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Nutrient Requirements of Dogs.
Revised 1985
Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition
Committee on Animal Nutrition
Board on Agriculture
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1985
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National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National
Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the Na
tional Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for
the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate
the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purpose of furthering knowledge and of
advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the
Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private,
nonprofit, selfgoverning membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency
of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their
services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered
jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Insti
tute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy
of Sciences.
This study was supported by the Center for Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture. Additional support was provided by the Pet Food Institute.
First Printing, June 1990
Second Printing, June 1991
Third Printing, May 1992
Fourth Printing, May 1993
Fifth Printing, August 1994
Sixth Printing, April 1996
Seventh Printing, April 1998
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.) Subcommittee on
Dog Nutrition
Nutrient requirements of dogs.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Dogs—Food. I. Title.
SF427.4.N38 1985 636.7'085 852955
ISBN 0309034965
Copyright © 1985 by the National Academy of Sciences
No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, phonographic, or electronic process, or in the
form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied
for public or private use, without written permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of official use
by the United States Government.
Printed in the United States of America
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Preface
This report is one in a series issued under the direction of the Committee on Animal Nutrition, Board on Agriculture, National Research Council. It was prepared by
the Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition and replaces the 1974 edition of Nutrient Requirements of Dogs.
The report describes common signs of deficiency and of toxicity and discusses the basis for arriving at requirements for energy and for specific nutrients.
This new edition contains recommendations for available nutrient content of representative commercial dog foods expressed on the basis of metabolizable energy
content. This change should lead to greater uniformity in the nutritional adequacy of foods with varying caloric density and facilitate meaningful comparisons of such
products.
The subcommittee expresses appreciation to all individuals who contributed to this report, in particular, David H. Baker, Norlin J. Benevenga, and H. Meyer, and
members of the Nutrition Task Force of the Pet Food Institute who reviewed the report and provided insightful comments and suggestions.
Review of this report was accomplished through the advice and guidance of the members of the Committee on Animal Nutrition. The subcommittee is particularly
indebted to Philip Ross and Selma P. Baron of the Board on Agriculture for their valuable assistance in the preparation of the report. The subcommittee is especially
grateful to James E. Corbin, who served as coordinator for the Board on Agriculture in the review of this report.
Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition
BEN E. SHEFFY, Chairman
Cornell University
KENNETH C. HAYES
Brandeis University
JOSEPH J. KNAPKA
National Institutes of Health
JOHN A. MILNER
University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign
JAMES G. MORRIS
University of California, Davis
DALE R. ROMSOS
Michigan State University
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Committee On Animal Nutrition
DUANE E. ULLREY, Chairman, Michigan State University
FRANK AHERNE, University of Alberta
RICHARD E. AUSTIC, Cornell University
JIMMY H. CLARK, University of Illinois
RICHARD D. GOODRICH, University of Minnesota
GEORGE E. MITCHELL, JR., University of Kentucky
JAMES G. MORRIS, University of California, Davis
ROBERT R. SMITH, USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service
DALE R. WALDO, USDA, Animal Science Institute
SELMA P. BARON, Staff Officer
Board On Agriculture
WILLIAM L. BROWN, Chairman, Pioneer HiBred International, Inc.
JOHN A. PINO, Vice Chairman, InterAmerican Development Bank
LAWRENCE BOGORAD, Harvard University
ERIC L. ELLWOOD, North Carolina State University
JOSEPH P. FONTENOT, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
ROBERT G. GAST, Michigan State University
EDWARD H. GLASS, Cornell University
RALPH W. F. HARDY, Cornell University and BioTechnica International, Inc.
ROGER L. MITCHELL, University of Missouri
CHARLES C. MUSCOPLAT, Molecular Genetics, Inc.
ELDOR A. PAUL, University of California, Berkeley
VERNON W. RUTTAN, University of Minnesota
JAMES G. TEER, Welder Wildlife Foundation
VIRGINIA WALBOT, Stanford University
CHARLES M. BENBROOK, Executive Director
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Contents
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS AND SIGNS OF DEFICIENCY 2
Energy 2
Requirements for Adult Maintenance 2
Requirements for Growth 4
Requirements for Reproduction and Lactation 4
Requirements for Work and Adverse Environmental Conditions 5
Signs of Deficiency 5
Fat 5
Dietary Fat Concentration 5
Essential Fatty Acids 6
Recommendation 6
Signs of Deficiency 7
Carbohydrates 7
Protein and Amino Acids 9
Signs of Deficiencies 9
Amino Acid Requirements 9
Minerals 14
Calcium and Phosphorus 15
Potassium 17
Sodium and Chlorine 17
Magnesium 17
Iron 18
Copper 19
Manganese 20
Zinc 20
Iodine 20
Selenium 21
Fluorine 21
Elements Required at Trace Concentrations 21
Vitamins 22
Vitamin A 22
Vitamin D 23
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Vitamin E 25
Vitamin K 26
Thiamin 27
Riboflavin 29
Pantothenic Acid 30
Niacin (Nicotinic Acid, Nicotinamide) 31
Vitamin B6 33
Folacin 34
Biotin 35
Vitamin B12 36
Choline 37
Vitamin C 37
3. WATER 39
4. COMPOSITION OF INGREDIENTS OF DOG FOODS 40
International Nomenclature 40
International Feed Classes 40
International Feed Number (IFN) 40
Carotene Conversion 41
Data 41
Metabolizable Energy (ME) 41
5. FORMULATED DIETS FOR DOGS 42
Dry Dog Foods 42
Semimoist Dog Foods 42
Canned Dog Foods 42
TABLES 44
REFERENCES 63
INDEX 77
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Figure and Tables
FIGURE
1. Relationship between metabolizable energy and adult body weight 4
TABLES
1. Minimum Nutrient Requirements of Dogs for Growth and Maintenance 44
2. Required Minimum Concentrations of Available Nutrients in Dog Food 44
Formulated for Growth
3. Factors for Consideration in Formulation of Dog Foods from Natural 45
Ingredients
4. Calculated Metabolizable Protein and Metabolizable Energy Requirements of 45
Dogs in Various Physiological States
5. Recommended Energy Needs of Adult Dogs at Maintenance 45
6. Fat and Fatty Acid Composition of Feed Ingredients 46
7. Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food, Excluding 48
Amino Acids
8. Amino Acid Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food 58
9. WeightUnit Conversion Factors 62
10. Weight Equivalents 62
11. Examples of Three Types of Commercial Foods 62
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1
Introduction
Canine nutrient requirements may have changed little since dogs were first domesticated. However, knowledge and understanding of nutrient requirements and their
applications have changed dramatically. The objective of this revision, in keeping with guidelines of the National Research Council's Committee on Animal Nutrition, is
to provide from currently available published information a summary of the minimum dietary requirements of dogs for the essential nutrients. These requirements are
presented in Table 1 (see p. 44) and are expressed as amounts per kilogram of body weight per day.
Dogs require dietary sources of energy, amino acids, glucose precursors, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and water. Suitable dietary sources of nutrients to meet these
requirements include plant, animal, and synthetic products, provided that appropriate processing procedures are followed in their preparation and that consideration is
given to variations in specific nutrients available from individual sources or combinations of sources.
Food intake recommendations are based on energy content of the diet. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that nutrient content of foods should also be related to
energy content of the food. Minimum contents of essential nutrients for dog foods based on requirements for growth are listed in Table 2 (see p. 44) and expressed as
available nutrients in units per 1,000 kilocalories (kcal) of metabolizable energy (ME) and on a dry matter basis. Expression of nutrient requirements on these bases will
simplify and expedite comparisons of nutritional value of practical diets with widely varying energy and/or moisture contents.
These recommended requirements are intended to serve as a guide to the formulation of foods and to meet the requirements of dogs of average circumstances of age,
function, physiological state, and environmental condition. Special circumstances and experience may warrant modifications of requirements to provide higher or lower
concentrations of individual nutrients or groups of nutrients. The reader should be aware that dietary excesses and imbalances can be as detrimental to health as dietary
deficiencies.
Finally, caution is advised in the use of these requirements without demonstration of nutrient availability, because in some cases requirements have been established on
the basis of studies in which nutrients were supplied by highly purified ingredients where digestibility and availability were not compromised by the interaction of dietary
constituents and effects of processing. Practical diets formulated from commonly used ingredients are not free of such interactions and effects, and therefore may
provide less available nutrients than the amounts measured by chemical analysis. For this reason, such diets formulated to the chemically assayed nutrient levels
expressed in Table 2 may prove inadequate in meeting the nutritional needs of dogs. Table 3 (see p. 45) indicates some of the factors that may modify dietary
requirements. Therefore, users are advised to obtain evidence of nutritional adequacy by direct feeding to dogs.
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2
Nutrient Requirements and Signs of Deficiency
Energy
When food is completely oxidized in a bomb calorimeter, the total combustible energy released as heat is known as gross energy (E). Gross energy values for mixed
carbohydrates, fat, and protein average 4.15, 9.40, and 5.65 kcal/g, respectively. However, not all gross energy contained in food is available for metabolism. An
undigested fraction is excreted in the feces. The difference between the gross energy consumed and the gross energy in the feces is referred to as apparent digestible
energy (DE). Additional energy losses occur, namely, energy in excreted urine and combustible gases. For practical reasons, only energy in urine is subtracted from
DE to determine metabolizable energy (ME) (NRC, 1981). The ME content of a food is a valid expression of the energy available to the dog and a basis for
comparisons of the feeding value of various foodstuffs. ME values for most of the individual ingredients listed in Table 7 (see p. 48) have not been determined for dogs.
Therefore, approximations of their ME content must be calculated. A method recommended for calculation is based on assumed apparent digestibilities of 80 percent
for protein, 90 percent for ether extract, and 85 percent for nitrogenfree extract (NFE). The resulting digestion coefficients are then multiplied by gross energy values
of 4.40 (5.65 – 1.25*), 9.40, and 4.15 kcal for protein, ether extract, and NFE, respectively. It is assumed that no ME was derived from crude fiber. The resulting
values of 3.50, 8.46, and 3.50 kcal are reasonable estimates of the ME available to dogs from protein, fat, and carbohydrate (NFE) from feed ingredients commonly
used in the manufacture of dog foods (see Chapter 4, section on Metabolizable Energy).
Expressing the energy requirements for all dogs is not a simple task. Adult size and growth rates of breeds vary greatly. Mature body weights range from 1 kg for the
Chihuahua to 90 kg for the St. Bernard. From a physiological viewpoint, energy requirements of animals with widely differing weights are not directly related to body
weight but are more closely related to body weight raised to some power, Wb, where W equals weight in kilograms and b is an exponent calculated from experimental
data. Brody et al. (1934) found that the basal heat production of mature warmblooded animals, ranging in size from mice to elephants, could be described by the
expression Y = 70.5 W0.73, where Y equals kilocalories per 24 h and W equals body weight in kilograms. Kleiber (1961) argued that over such a range in body size,
Brody's expression and Y = 70 W3/4 would not be significantly different and that the latter would be simpler to use.
More recently Heusner (1982) demonstrated that the use of the 0.75 interspecific mass exponent in Kleiber's equation is a statistical artifact. Many people assumed
that the relationship between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and metabolic body weight was similar for mice and cows. Heusner argued that the theoretical exponent
should be 0.67 to describe the intraspecies (e.g., dogs) relationship of energy to mass.
Requirements for Adult Maintenance
Energy requirements for maintenance of adult dogs have been studied by Cowgill (1928) and estimated by Arnold and Elvehjem (1939) from the prediction equations
of Brody et al. (1934). Abrams (1962) also published estimates of maintenance energy requirements of adult male dogs that conform closely to previous values,
although it is not clear how these data were derived.
* Gross energy of protein corrected for nitrogen energy loss in metabolic products.
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Payne (1965), using Abrams's data, published estimates of metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance of growing, adult, pregnant, and lactating dogs.
Abrams (1976) recalculated available data related to the determination of BMR in dogs. Estimates were made of energy requirements for maintenance of adult dogs in
terms of DE and expressed as joules (J) needed per day or per kilogram of body weight. Constants were determined by regression analysis and an equation for
calculating kJ energy requirement was derived. Of significance is that estimates for males exceeded those for females.
Abrams (1976) reported greater metabolizable energy requirements for dogs weighing less than 20 kg than those calculated by the method of the 1974 NRC report
(132 × BW ), but his values did not differ greatly for heavier dogs. More recently, Blaza (1981) measured ME requirements for maintenance of medium and giant
breeds of dogs. Great Dane and Newfoundland dogs required 1.5 and 1.3 times, respectively, the calculated ME from the equations of NRC (1974). Requirements of
Labrador Retrievers were comparable to requirements predicted from NRC (1974). The Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition decided to seek available data for
maintenance based on controlled feeding conditions and to develop a prediction equation using the approach advocated by Thonney et al. (1976).
Limited data were available for individual dogs weighing from 4 to 36 kg. Seven breeds (Beagle, Boxer, Labrador Retriever, Pointer, Poodle, and two types of
Dachshund) were included. From visual inspection of the scatterplot it could not be concluded that either breed or sex differences affected the relationship of daily ME
required for maintenance of body weight.
The data were fitted to a linear model and an allometric model. The simple linear model (ME = b0 + b1W, where b0 is the intercept, b1 is the slope, and W is weight in
kilograms) described the withinspecies relationship between basal heat production and weight. The allometric model used was ME = b0Wb1 (where b0 is the mass
coefficient and b1 is the exponent). The allometric approach to energy data was first used by Kleiber (1932) on data in which the lightest animal (rat) weighed close to zero compared to the
heaviest (cattle). This model implies that the relationship will intersect the origin. There is no reason to use the allometric model unless a curved line that intersects the origin fits the data
better than a simple straight line. Since large weight differences comparable to those in the data used by Kleiber (1932) do not exist within most species (including dogs), it is unlikely that
the best model is one that requires the relationship to intersect the origin.
The results of fitting the two models to the data are shown in Figure 1. The linear equation, ME = 144.4 + 62.2 W, and the allometric equation, ME = 99.56 W0.879,
both explained 85.6 percent of the variation with a standard deviation of 260 kcal. The daily ME requirement predicted by these equations is shown in Table 5 (see p.
45) for dogs varying in weight from 1 to 60 kg. Either equation may be used.
The NRC (1974) equation (ME = 132 W0.75) is also shown in Figure 1, but it explains less of the variation than the allometric and linear equations actually derived
from the data. It underpredicts the ME requirements of the larger dogs and, thus, supports the work of Blaza (1981). More data are needed, however, to predict
accurately the energy needs of dogs greater than 35 kg mature body weight. Therefore, until more data are available, it may be advisable to determine feeding levels
based on the 1974 equation predictions.
These values or any others cannot be taken as absolute ME requirements for any individual or breed of dog, since needs vary with age, activity, body condition,
insulative characteristics of the hair coat, temperature, acclimatization, external environmental circumstances, and psychological temperament.
Finally, it would not appear to serve much practical purpose to further refine energy requirements of even ''average" dogs, since the ME concentration of foods
available to such "average" dogs is frequently either unknown or can only be calculated by methods resulting in no greater precision.
Generally, adult dogs adjust their food intake to energy requirements. Cowgill (1928) found that dogs previously adjusted to an appropriate intake of a particular diet
consumed fewer grams, but a similar number of calories, when a higherenergydensity diet was offered. Durrer and Hannon (1962) reported that caloric intake varied
inversely with longterm changes in environmental temperature. In July, when the mean temperature was 17°C, Beagles consumed approximately 163 kcal of ME per
W per day, while Huskies consumed 127. In November, when mean temperatures were 17°C, the respective daily ME intakes for Beagles and Huskies were
278 and 205 kcal per W . Huskies exhibited a marked increase in hair growth during November and December, while little seasonal change in hair growth was
seen in Beagles. Dogs of both breeds minimized heat loss during extremely cold weather (less than 40°C) by curling into a ball and tucking their noses and tails
underneath their bodies. While Huskies showed no evidence of shivering and refused to sleep in plywood shelters, Beagles shivered and sought shelter. These data
illustrate the marked effect on energy requirements imposed by the environment and the additional influence of differences in breed and behavior.
While weight changes were small, both Beagles and Huskies were heavier in the summer than in the winter.
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Figure 1 Relationship between metabolizable energy and adult body weight.
These data support what is increasingly recognized in practice, namely, the inability of many dogs to accurately adjust food intake to meet requirements for biological
energy. When dogs are kept in a controlled environment with limited opportunity to exercise and are fed highly palatable, nutrientdense foods, the ability to regulate
food intake for optimum body weight may be compromised. Obesity, common to many pets, is the ultimate result of caloric intake in excess of metabolic requirements.
Regardless of the accuracy of any prediction of energy requirements, the judgment of how much to feed must ultimately be with the individual feeding the dog. This
judgment is based on weight, conformation, and general appearance of the dog in question.
Requirements for Growth
Growing puppies require about 2 times as much energy per unit of body weight as adult dogs of the same breed (Arnold and Elvehjem, 1939). The newly weaned dog
can readily adapt to this level of feeding, particularly when the food is offered in multiple judiciously spaced meals. However, an arbitrary decrease to 1.6 times
maintenance is recommended when 40 percent of adult body weight is achieved, and 1.2 times maintenance when 80 percent of adult weight is reached. This
reduction compensates for the decline in energy required from weaning to adult age. Excessive nutrient intake from weaning to adolescence, resulting in maximal
growth rates, is incompatible with proper skeletal development (Hedhammar et al., 1974).
Requirements for Reproduction and Lactation
Limited studies and practical experience suggest that energy requirements of the normal pregnant bitch are only slightly more than those recommended for maintenance
for the first twothirds of gestation. During the last trimester, energy requirements may increase to as much as 150 to 160 percent of preconception values (Romsos et
al., 1981). Energy requirements during lactation increase greatly and are influenced by size of the litter. Bitches with large litters may require 3 or more times the
maintenance energy requirement. The ability to meet these requirements may be limited by the capacity of the bitch to consume sufficient food. Foods of high
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nutrient density are recommended for feeding at this time.
Requirements for Work and Adverse Environmental Conditions
The range of work performed by dogs may vary from the limited exercise characteristic of the apartment pet to the intense effort of the working sled dog. Systematic
schedules for meeting such diverse requirements are impractical. Thus, it is recommended to feed to thrifty body condition. It should be pointed out, however, that
while a conditioned racing Greyhound may require energy only 10 to 20 percent above that of maintenance, a sled dog working under polar conditions may require 2
to 4 times the maintenance requirement in order to avert significant weight loss (Kronfeld et al., 1977). Conversely, working dogs in hot, humid environments may
require 50 to 100 percent more energy than similar dogs in less stressful circumstances (McNamara, 1971).
Signs of Deficiency
Signs of energy deficiency are frequently nonspecific, and diagnosis may be complicated by a simultaneous shortage of several nutrients. The most conspicuous and
reliable sign of uncomplicated energy deficiency is a generalized loss of body weight. Under conditions of partial or complete starvation, most internal organs exhibit
some atrophy. A loss of subcutaneous, mesenteric, perirenal, uterine, testicular, and retroperitoneal fat is an early sign. Low fat content of the marrow in the long bones
is a good indicator of prolonged inanition. Brain size is least affected, but the size of gonads may be greatly decreased. Hypoplasia of lymph nodes, spleen, and thymus
leads to a marked reduction in their size. The adrenal glands are usually enlarged. The young skeleton is extremely sensitive to energy deficiency, and growth may be
slowed or stopped completely. In the adult the skeleton may become osteoporotic. Lactation and the ability to perform work are also impaired. As muscle proteins
are catabolized for energy, endogenous nitrogen losses increase. Parasitism and bacterial infections frequently occur under such circumstances and may superimpose
other clinical signs.
Fat
Dietary fat is a concentrated source of energy and provides essential fatty acids. These essential fatty acids serve structural functions in cell membranes and in
metabolic regulation, e.g., as precursors of prostaglandins and related metabolites. Fat also serves as a carrier of fatsoluble vitamins and lends palatability and a
desirable texture to dog food.
Dietary Fat Concentration
Proper formulation of diets containing fat requires an adjustment for the high energy value of fats. Because the ME concentration of digestible fat is approximately 2.25
times the ME concentration of digestible carbohydrate or protein, substitution of fat on an equal weight basis for these nutrients will increase the energy density of the
diet. As a result, dogs fed highfat diets formulated without consideration for the higher energy value of fat may exhibit nutrient deficiencies. This occurs because dogs
generally respond by eating less of a highfat diet to maintain nearnormal energy intake (Cowgill, 1928). Consequently, daily intake of protein, minerals, and/or
vitamins may not be adequate. The adverse consequences of improper formulation of highfat diets on the growth rate of puppies has been demonstrated (Elvehjem
and Krehl, 1947; Campbell and Phillips, 1953; Ontko et al., 1957; Crampton, 1964).
When the formulation of highfat diets is adjusted to ensure adequate intake of protein, minerals, and vitamins, diets with wide ranges in fat concentration appear
compatible with good health of dogs. (See Newberne et al., 1978, for examples of procedures for formulating highfat diets.) Apparent digestibility of fat by dogs
varies from approximately 80 to 95 percent when mixtures of glycerides from plant and animal sources are fed (James and McCay, 1950; Orr, 1965). The growth
rate of Beagle puppies between 2 and 6 months of age was unaffected by feeding purified, canned diets ranging in composition from 13 to 76 percent of energy from
fat and containing 20 to 25 percent of energy from protein (Romsos et al., 1976). Between 6 and 10 months of age, puppies fed the lowerfat diet (13 percent fat)
gained less body weight because they gained less body fat than did puppies fed diets containing 38, 55, or 76 percent of energy from fat. Results of this study and
several others (Siedler and Schweigert, 1952; Campbell and Phillips, 1953) demonstrated that puppies exhibit satisfactory growth when fed diets with rather widely
varying concentrations of fat if amino acid requirements are met.
Reproductive performance of bitches fed diets varying in fat concentration has received only limited attention. Siedler and Schweigert (1954) indicated that
reproductive performance was somewhat better when Cocker Spaniel bitches were fed a diet containing 7.7 percent fat rather than a diet containing either 3.7 or 11.7
percent fat. Because their diets were formulated by adding 4 and 8 percent fat to the diet containing 3.7 percent fat, the ratio of essential nutrients to ME was
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progressively decreased in the higherfat diets. This may have adversely affected performance of bitches fed the diet containing 11.7 percent fat. Ontko and Phillips
(1958) fed diets containing 8 or 16 percent fat and observed satisfactory reproductive performance. Provided appropriate adjustments are made to maintain an
adequate nutrienttoenergy ratio, it would appear that diets with rather widely varying concentrations of fat will also permit satisfactory reproductive performance.
Sedentary adult dogs have a greater tendency to become obese when fed highfat diets ad libitum rather than highcarbohydrate diets. When adult female Beagles
were fed ad libitum a diet containing 51 percent of energy from fat for 25 weeks, they gained twice as much body fat as dogs fed a diet containing 23 percent of
energy from fat (Romsos et al., 1978). Other animals also tend to gain more body fat when fed a highfat diet than when fed a lowfat diet (Sclafani, 1980). A slight
restriction in food intake, however, will prevent development of obesity even if highfat diets are fed.
The concentration of fat in the diet may affect work performance of dogs. Fatty acids are the primary source of energy for skeletal muscle during exhaustive exercise
(Therriault et al., 1973). When adult Beagles that had been maintained in a high state of physical conditioning and had been fed a cerealbased diet with 7 percent fat
were fasted for 5 days, their endurance capacity increased by 74 percent relative to their endurance in the fed state (Young, 1959). It was concluded that this
improvement in work performance was mediated by an enhanced ability to mobilize body fat. Consumption of a highfat diet rather than a highcarbohydrate diet has
been shown to lengthen the time to exhaustion of Beagles on a treadmill by approximately 30 percent (Downey et al., 1980) and to cause a greater elevation in
plasmafree fatty acid concentration during exercise of sled dogs (Hammel et al., 1977).
Essential Fatty Acids
Dogs, like other animals, have a dietary requirement for certain polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids have been shown to stimulate growth and cure the
dermatitis characteristic of dogs fed a diet very low in fat or a diet in which the fat is completely saturated (Hansen et al., 1948, 1954; Hansen and Wiese, 1951;
Wiese et al., 1965, 1966).
Members of the linoleic acid n6 (denotes the position of the first double bond from the terminal end of the chain) family including linoleic acid, C18:2 (n6); linolenic
acid, C18:3 (n6); and arachidonic acid, C20:4 (n6) all exhibit essential fatty acid activity. The shorthand terminology used denotes the number of carbon atoms in the
fatty acid (followed by a colon) and the number of double bonds. Because C18:2 (n6) can be desaturated and elongated to form C18:3 (n6) and C20:4 (n6)
(Mead, 1980), and because the latter two fatty acids are only minor components of most natural fats, the requirement for fatty acids of the n6 family is usually
expressed as linoleic acid. Linoleic acid concentrations of a variety of ingredients used in dog foods are shown in Table 6 (see p. 46).
The minimum amount of linoleic acid (or other members of the n6 family of fatty acids) required by the dog has not been precisely determined. The pathological and
biochemical changes in the skin produced by an essential fatty acid deficiency can be reversed when 2 to 6 percent of the ME requirement is provided by linoleic acid
or arachidonic acid (Hansen and Wiese, 1951; Wiese et al., 1966). One percent of the ME requirement as linoleic acid does not appear to be adequate for growing
puppies (Wiese et al., 1966).
Several factors including rate of growth and concentrations of saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids in the diet influence the
requirement for essential fatty acids (Mead, 1980; Holman, 1981). Beagle puppies fed a lowfat diet at 200 kcal ME per kilogram of body weight per day exhibited
skin lesions within 2 to 3 months (Wiese et al., 1962). When the level of intake was reduced to 150 kcal ME per kilogram body weight per day, lesions appeared in 3
to 4 months. Puppies fed 100 kcal ME per kilogram of body weight per day did not grow, nor did they exhibit gross or histological evidence of fat deficiency during
the 5month study. Based on data obtained with rodents (Mead, 1980; Holman, 1981), one would predict that high intakes of saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids,
or oleic acid [C18:1 (n9)] by dogs would compete with the metabolism of essential fatty acids and thereby increase the requirement for essential fatty acids.
However, data are unavailable for estimating the extent to which these fatty acids might increase the requirement for essential fatty acids in dogs.
There is speculation that fatty acids of the linolenate [C18:3 (n3)] family also exhibit essential fatty acid activity in animals (Mead, 1980; Budowski, 1981). In rats
C18:3 (n3) promotes normal growth but does not prevent the skin lesions associated with lack of n6 fatty acids (Mead, 1980). Fatty acids of the n3 family have
been suggested to serve some special function in the nervous system (Mead, 1980; Holman et al., 1982). They also are precursors of prostaglandins that may play an
important role in control of blood clotting (Budowski, 1981). Data are unavailable to indicate if dogs have a requirement for fatty acids of the n3 family.
Recommendation
It is recommended that a dog food contain at least 5 percent fat on a dry basis, including 1 percent of the diet
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as linoleic acid. Because not all fats are rich in linoleic acid (Table 6), supplemental fats must be chosen judiciously when total fat is limited to 5 percent. Although these
concentrations appear sufficient for normal physiological functions, higher concentrations of fat may be desirable in practical dog foods to enhance acceptability and to
improve hair coat sheen. If such increases are made, the concentrations of other nutrients should be appropriately increased to maintain a satisfactory nutrientto
energy ratio, i.e., when substantial fat supplementation is implemented, total dietary reformulation is in order to prevent nutrient imbalances from occurring.
Signs of Deficiency
Puppies fed a lowfat diet (probably less than 0.01 percent linoleic acid) but with a high energy intake per day began to show coarse, dry hair and desquamation on
the ventrum after 2 to 3 months. After 4 to 5 months (6 to 7 months of age), these lesions became severe. With normal energy intake, appearance of the lesions was
delayed about 1 month (Wiese et al., 1962). The earliest gross lesions appeared on the abdomen, then on the thigh, and last in the interscapular area. Histologically,
the epidermis was edematous and thickened, with up to 12 layers of cells in the most severely affected areas. Keratinization was deranged and, as the deficiency
advanced, parakeratosis became evident. Maturation of the epidermal cells seemed impaired. Affected areas were invaded first by mononuclear cells, followed later
by polymorphonuclear neutrophils. The epidermis appeared ulcerated and was more susceptible to infection. Linoleic acid and arachidonic acid concentrations in the
skin decreased markedly.
Carbohydrates
All animals have a metabolic requirement for glucose to supply energy for organs, including the central nervous system, and to supply substrate for synthesis of
compounds such as pentoses and glycoproteins. Provided the diet contains sufficient glucose precursors (amino acids and glycerol), the glucogenic capacity of the liver
and kidneys is usually sufficient to meet the metabolic need of growing animals for glucose without inclusion of carbohydrate in the diet (Brambila and Hill, 1966; Chen
et al., 1980).
Beagle puppies have been fed purified, canned diets ranging in composition from 0 to 62 percent of metabolizable energy from carbohydrate (cornstarch) and from 13
to 76 percent of metabolizable energy from fat (corn oil, tallow, and lard) to determine if dietary carbohydrate is required for growth and maintenance of normal blood
glucose levels (Romsos et al., 1976). Protein (20 to 25 percent of energy) in these diets was derived from approximately equal proportions of lean beef and isolated
soybean protein. Weight gain of the 2monthold Beagles fed the carbohydratefree diet containing 24 and 76 percent of energy from protein and fat, respectively, for
8 months was comparable to the gain of pupies fed diets containing 20 to 62 percent of energy from carbohydrate. Pups fed the carbohydratefree diet also
maintained normal plasma glucose concentrations and normal rates of glucose utilization (estimated by disappearance of [2 3H] glucose) (Belo et al., 1976). These
results agree with earlier reports demonstrating that growing rats (Chen et al., 1980) and chickens (Brambila and Hill, 1966) do not appear to have a dietary
requirement for carbohydrate provided adequate dietary glucose precursors are available in the form of glucogenic amino acids and glycerol.
A dietary requirement for carbohydrate has been demonstrated in growing rats (Chen et al., 1980) by reducing the concentration of protein in the diet to 13 percent
and by providing unesterified fatty acids, rather than glycerolcontaining triglycerides, as the only nonprotein energy source. Rats fed this diet gained less weight and
had depressed blood glucose concentrations. Either adding 6 percent glucose or doubling the concentration of protein in the diet to 26 percent increased their growth
rate to equal the growth rate of control rats. Similar experiments have not been reported with dogs, but it seems probable that consumption of a diet devoid of
carbohydrate and low in glucose precursors would also cause hypoglycemia and limit growth rate of dogs.
During gestation and lactation the metabolic requirement for glucose is increased to supply needs for fetal development and lactose synthesis, respectively. When,
starting 3½ to 4 weeks after conception, Beagle bitches were fed a diet containing 26, 74, and 0 percent of energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrate, respectively,
their food intake, body weight increase, and plasma glucose concentrations during the first two trimesters of gestation were comparable to values in bitches fed a diet
containing 26, 30, and 44 percent of energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrate, respectively (Romsos et al., 1981). However, during the week before whelping,
bitches fed the carbohydratefree diet developed hypoglycemia and had depressed plasma concentrations of two key glucose precursors (lactate and alanine). Total
number of pups whelped by the bitches was unaffected by diet, but fewer pups from bitches fed the carbohydratefree diet were alive at birth (63 percent) than from
bitches fed the carbohydratecontaining diet (96 percent). Only 35 percent of the pups whelped by bitches fed the carbohydratefree diet were alive at 3 days of age.
The cause of death of the pups was not established, but they probably had less ability to maintain their plasma glucose concentrations immediately after delivery
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than did control pups (Kliegman et al., 1980). Additionally, the lethargic condition of the hypoglycemic bitches reduced their mothering ability immediately after
delivery.
The severe hypoglycemia (plasma glucose concentrations as low as 15 to 20 mg/dl) and ketosis (blood hydroxybutyrate concentrations as high as 2.5 mM) that
develop at whelping in some bitches fed a carbohydratefree diet (Romsos et al., 1981) are not unique to dogs. Hypoglycemia and ketosis are also often observed
during the last trimester of gestation in ewes carrying twins or triplets (Bergman, 1973). Since most of the carbohydrate consumed by ewes is fermented in the rumen,
they absorb only small amounts of glucose and therefore depend on endogenous synthesis to supply their need for glucose. Under conditions of accelerated need for
glucose such as occur in the last trimester of gestation, both dogs and ewes sometimes fail to meet these needs from endogenous synthesis. It is possible, based on
observations with pregnant rats (Taylor et al., 1983), that bitches also require some carbohydrate in their diet during the period immediately postconception. Rats fed a
carbohydratefree diet from the day of conception exhibit an increase in early embryonic abnormalities and resorption (Taylor et al., 1983). Because the bitches were
not switched to their experimental diets until 3 ½ to 4 weeks after conception (Romsos et al., 1981), effects of a carbohydratefree diet on the early stages of their
gestation remain unknown. It is recommended that diets of pregnant bitches contain some available carbohydrate for optimal reproductive performance.
Lactating Beagle bitches have also been fed a carbohydratefree diet containing 26 percent of energy from protein and 74 percent from fat to determine if they require
dietary carbohydrate for lactation (Romsos et al., 1981). To maximize the need for milk synthesis, each bitch nursed six pups, and the pups were not allowed to
consume the bitches' diet during the first 4 weeks of lactation. Pups suckling bitches fed the carbohydratefree diet grew as well as those suckling bitches fed the
carbohydratecontaining diet. Likewise, plasma glucose concentrations of the lactating bitches were unaffected by the absence of carbohydrate in the diet. Because the
milk of Beagles contains less than 20 percent of energy from lactose (Luick et al., 1960; Romsos et al., 1981), the need for glucose in lactating Beagles is less than the
need during gestation when glucose is a major energy source for fetal development. This may explain why consumption of a carbohydratefree diet adversely affected
performance of the Beagles during gestation but not during lactation. In breeds of dogs that have larger litters and a greater milk production than Beagles it is possible
that the metabolic demand for glucose could exceed the ability of the bitch to synthesize it. At least in highproducing dairy cows, hypoglycemia and ketosis have been
shown to develop during peak lactation (Bergman, 1973).
Carbohydrates provide an economical source of energy in the diet of dogs. Cooked starch is well digested by adult dogs (Roseboom and Patton, 1929; Ivy et al.,
1936; James and McCay, 1950; Heiman, 1959) and by growing Beagles (Romsos et al., 1976). Growing Beagles fed a purified, canned diet containing 62 percent of
energy from cornstarch exhibited an apparent energy digestibility of 84 percent, whereas energy digestibility was slightly higher (87 to 89 percent) for dogs fed diets
containing less starch (0 to 42 percent of metabolizable energy) and more fat (38 to 76 percent of metabolizable energy). Weight gain of Beagles fed the diet
containing 62 percent cornstarch from 2 to 10 months of age was somewhat less than for dogs fed diets with less starch and more fat. This difference in weight gain
occurred because dogs fed the highstarch diet gained less body fat; gain in fatfree mass was unaffected by concentration of starch in the diet. Raw starch is less well
utilized by dogs than is starch that has been subjected to some dextrinization by processing (for example, cooking, baking, or toasting) (Heiman, 1959).
Utilization of simple carbohydrates such as lactose, dextrinmaltose, and sucrose has also been evaluated in dogs. Suckling puppies obviously utilize lactose, although
as mentioned above, the milk of Beagles contains a relatively low percentage of energy from lactose. Sudden introduction of large amounts of lactose into the diet of
adult Beagles causes diarrhea (Bennent and Coon, 1966). This response is not unique to dogs—adults of a number of other species would also exhibit diarrhea if
abruptly challenged with large amounts of lactose. Diets containing as much as 49 percent by weight of sucrose support satisfactory body weight gain in immature
Beagles (Milner, 1979). Young adult Beagles show a preference for sucrosecontaining diets when allowed to selfselect between a sucrosesupplemented diet and a
control, starchcontaining diet (Houpt et al., 1979). Although sucrose is well utilized by dogs in the postweaning period, there is the possibility, based on research in
other species (Becker et al., 1954), that intestinal sucrase activity is low immediately after birth, in which case sucrose should not be included as a significant
component in artificial milk for puppies.
Fiber is not generally considered essential for simplestomached mammals, including dogs, although inclusion of some fiber in the diet may be beneficial. Energy density
of the diet is reduced by fiber, and therefore inclusion of some fiber in the diet may contribute to the maintenance of ideal body weight in adult sedentary dogs fed ad
libitum. Fiber reduces gastrointestinal transit time in simplestomached mammals. But because
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dogs have a relatively short gastrointestinal tract, ingesta transit time is relatively rapid even when a lowfiber diet is fed (Banta et al., 1979). As a result of their short
gastrointestinal tract, dogs have a low colonicrectal surface area per unit body weight. For example, Beagle dogs have only 17 cm2 colonicrectal mucosal area per
kilogram of body weight, whereas the comparable value for pigs is 200 cm2 per kilogram of body weight (Herschel et al., 1981). Consequently, dogs are unlikely to
absorb significant amounts of energy from the fermentation of fiber that might occur during its relatively rapid transit through the lower gastrointestinal tract. Finally,
although data are unavailable for the dog, it should be recognized that inclusion of large amounts of fiber in the diet may adversely affect nutrient availability.
Protein And Amino Acids
Dietary protein is required to supply specific essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by tissues to allow for optimum performance.
Additionally, dietary nitrogen is required to allow for optimal biosynthesis of the dispensable amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds. Recent studies by Milner
(1979 a,b) using purified diets containing 4.1 kcal ME/g have established that the following amino acids are required for optimum growth and nitrogen balance in the
immature Beagle:
methionine
arginine phenylalanine
histidine threonine
isoleucine tryptophan
leucine valine
lysine
Studies of Rose and Rice (1939) established that all of the above amino acids except for arginine were also required to maintain nitrogen equilibrium in adult female
dogs. However, recent studies of Burns et al. (1981) have shown that dietary arginine is required by the mature dog to maintain body weight and to prevent emesis
and other signs associated with hyperammonemia.
Numerous factors may modify the percentage of protein required in the diet. In establishing this requirement, factors such as digestibility, amino acid composition,
availability of the protein source, caloric density of the diet, and physiological state of the dog must be considered. The quantity, including excesses and deficiencies, of
essential (indispensable) and dispensable amino acids, plus other nonspecific nitrogen sources are factors that may influence the minimal percentage of dietary protein
required for optimum growth and health. Estimates of the protein requirement of the dog can also vary depending on the methods and criteria used in their derivation.
Signs of Deficiencies
Protein deficiency in the dog results in depressed food intake, severe growth retardation or weight loss, hypoproteinemia, depletion of protein reserves, muscular
wasting, emaciation, and, ultimately, death (Chow et al., 1945; Allison et al., 1946; Allison and Wannemacher, 1965; Burns et al., 1982). Edema sometimes
accompanies the hypoproteinemia. Generally, during limited access to protein the hair coat becomes rough and dull in appearance, antibody formation is impaired, and
milk production is depressed. Although the signs of protein deficiency are nonspecific and can be created by other dietary deficiencies, including caloric restriction,
these signs do indicate the severity of dietary limitations on the dog's health and performance.
Removal of a single essential amino acid results in a prompt reduction in food consumption leading to a negative nitrogen balance. Generally there is a return to normal
within a few days after replacing the limiting amino acid. Prolonged deficiency of any of the essential amino acids leads to a syndrome similar to that occurring during
protein deficiency. Limitation in a dietary essential amino acid tends to be reflected by lowered concentrations of the specific amino acid in the blood plasma
(Longnecker and Hause, 1959). Specific signs characteristic of a deficiency of individual amino acids in the dog have not been adequately documented.
Amino acid imbalances or antagonisms are known to increase the requirements for individual amino acids (Harper and Rogers, 1965; Harper et al., 1970). Some
adaptation to minor imbalances and antagonisms appears to occur. Data obtained in other species indicate that the effects of imbalances or antagonisms are greater
when suboptimal dietary nitrogen is offered but of lesser importance if all amino acids are in excess in the diet.
Amino Acid Requirements
Indispensable
The dietary requirement of a particular protein or a mixture of proteins is determined by the ability of the protein(s) to meet the dog's metabolic requirements for amino
acids and nitrogen. The closer the supply of the complement of amino acids to the requirement, the lower the percentage of protein required in the dog's diet (Allison et
al., 1947; Kade et al., 1948; Arnold and Schad, 1954). Amino acid requirements, as a percentage of the diet, decline from birth to maturity. However, Wannemacher
and McCoy (1966) have suggested that
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amino acid needs of adult dogs may increase from maturity to old age. Unfortunately, the influence of age has not been adequately studied. Research with other species
reveals that in estimating requirements for amino acids, consideration must be given to the energy and total protein concentration of the diet (Wretlind and Rose, 1950;
Bressani and Mertz, 1958; Milner, 1981). Similarities in metabolism among mammalian species suggest that it is prudent to consider these as important dietary factors
for the dog until research proves otherwise.
Arginine Arginine has been shown to elicit the release of a number of metabolic hormones including insulin, glucagon, growth hormone, and prolactin. Recent evidence
also indicates that arginine can stimulate the immune response (Barbul et al., 1981). LeFebvre et al. (1976) showed that arginine stimulated the release of glucagon and
gastrin from the stomach of the dog. The importance of physiological concentrations of arginine in maintaining body homeostasis needs further investigation.
Using purified Lamino acid diets, arginine has been shown to be an essential amino acid for the immature and mature dog (Ha et al., 1978; Burns et al., 1981).
Consumption of a diet devoid of arginine resulted in signs of ammonia toxicity within 1 hour following voluntary consumption of a single meal. Signs of ammonia
intoxication included emesis, frothing at the mouth, muscle spasms, and altered cellular metabolism. Consumption of an argininedeficient diet was accompanied by an
elevation in the concentration of the pyrimidine metabolite, orotic acid, in both blood and urine. These studies revealed that 0.56 percent dietary arginine supported
optimum growth, nitrogen balance, and prevention of orotic aciduria in the immature Beagle fed an Lamino acid diet equivalent to 14 percent protein. Czarnecki and
Baker (1984) reported that the dietary arginine requirement for English Pointer puppies was 0.40 percent for maximum weight gain. Consumption of equimolar
quantities of ornithine failed to prevent signs of arginine deficiency, which included growth failure, emesis, hyperammonemia, and orotic aciduria. Consumption of
equimolar quantities of citrulline, however, resulted in nearnormal growth, but blood and urine metabolites did not parallel those in puppies fed arginine. Although the
dietary arginine requirement in the immature dog appears to increase with increasing nitrogen concentration of the diet (Ha et al., 1978), the recommendations have
been set at 274 mg per kilogram of body weight per day to allow for optimum growth and prevention of abnormal metabolism. This corresponds to 1.37 g/1,000 kcal
ME.
Signs of ammonia intoxication in mature Pointers were prevented by feeding a purified diet containing 0.28 percent arginine (Burns et al., 1981). In the absence of
other data, 21 mg per kilogram of body weight per day has been proposed as the requirement for mature dogs. These results are consistent with the concept that the
mature dog has a lower dietary amino acid requirement than that of the immature dog.
Histidine Diets containing 0.11 percent or less histidine and the equivalent of 14 percent protein resulted in depressions in food intake. Analysis of growth, feed
efficiency, and nitrogen retention data of Beagles fed purified Lamino acid diets revealed that 0.21 percent histidine (193 mg/d/kg0.75) was required to meet these
parameters (Burns and Milner, 1982). Therefore, the requirement for immature dogs has been given as 98 mg per kilogram of body weight per day or 0.49 g/1,000
kcal ME of dietary energy intake.
Although Rose and Rice (1939) reported that histidine was an essential amino acid for the adult dog, no data were presented. Recently Cianciaruso et al. (1981)
confirmed that histidine was required in the diet of adult female dogs. Mature dogs tubefed a purified Lamino acid diet devoid of histidine for approximately 60 days
had reduced plasma and muscle histidine concentrations, decreased muscle carnosine, reduced hematocrit, depressed serum albumin, and weight loss. The minimum
requirement for mature dogs has not been established but has been estimated to be 22.0 mg/kg/d by Ward (1975).
Cianciaruso et al. (1981) reported that signs of histidine deficiency may not appear for many days, but then progress rapidly. Factors that modify the onset of signs of
histidine deficiency may include the release of histidine from carnosine ( alanyl Lhistidine) and hemoglobin, a reduction in the rate of histidine degradation, and
possibly enhanced histidine reabsorption in the kidney (Cianciaruso et al., 1981).
Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are classified as branchedchain amino acids. Plasma concentrations of branchedchain amino acids
have been observed to increase during prolonged fasting in the dog (Brady et al., 1977). Since muscle is a site of metabolism of the branchedchain amino acids, this
increase may represent decreased muscular uptake or increased muscular release of these amino acids. Branchedchain amino acids are not only substrates for protein
biosynthesis, but have also been implicated in the regulation of protein turnover and energy metabolism (Adibi, 1980). Purified Lamino acid diets containing 0.41
percent isoleucine support optimum growth in immature Beagles (Milner, 1979b). Furthermore, similar studies have shown that diets containing more than
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0.55 percent leucine and 0.42 percent valine are required to optimize growth and nitrogen balance in immature dogs (Milner, 1979a). Since probably all branched
chain amino acids in the dog are metabolized by a common enzyme, it is possible that an excess of one of these amino acids will increase the dietary requirements for
the others. Burns et al. (1984) have recently reported that 10 to 12weekold Beagles require 0.65 percent leucine, 0.40 percent isoleucine, and 0.43 percent valine
to support optimal growth, feed efficiency, and nitrogen retention. These values and proposed recommendations correspond to 159 mg leucine, 98 mg isoleucine, and
105 mg valine per 1,000 kcal dietary metabolizable energy. Ward (1975) has estimated that the leucine, isoleucine, and valine requirements for the mature dog are 84,
48, and 60 mg/kg/d, respectively.
Lysine Milner (1979a, 1981) has shown that lysine is an essential amino acid and that the dietary requirement for maximum growth and nitrogen balance occurred in
immature male Beagles fed 0.58 percent or more lysine. In the absence of other data, 280 mg per kilogram of body weight per day has been set as the lysine
recommendation for growth. This requirement would be met by a diet supplying 1.40 g lysine per 1,000 kcal ME. Dogs given diets containing excess lysine (1.73
percent) had significantly lower growth rates than dogs given diets containing optimal (0.58 percent) lysine. Ward (1975) estimated the minimum lysine required to
maintain nitrogen equilibrium in the adult dog is approximately 50 mg/kg/d.
Methionine Methionine was established as an essential amino acid for optimum growth and nitrogen balance in immature Beagle dogs using diets containing purified L
amino acids (Milner, 1979b; Burns and Milner, 1981; Blaza et al., 1982). These studies revealed that diets containing 4 kcal ME/g and 0.20 percent methionine and
0.15 percent cystine meet the total sulfur amino acid requirement of the immature Beagle based on growth and nitrogen balance (Burns and Milner, 1981). Expressing
methionine and cystine on an isosulfurous basis, the total dietary sulfur amino acid requirement for immature Beagles fed a 16 percent Lamino acid diet was found to
be 0.39 percent. The total sulfur amino acid requirement was estimated to be 373 mg/d/kg0.75 in diets containing an estimated 4.4 kcal gross energy per gram dry
weight (Burns and Milner, 1981). Support for this requirement for methionine comes from studies showing intake of diets containing more than 12 percent protein as
casein did not improve the growth of the immature dog (Burns et al., 1982). Cystine could supply approximately 50 percent of this requirement. These studies also
demonstrated that the dog can effectively utilize Dmethionine, DLmethionine, OH Lmethionine, Nacetyl Lmethionine, but not Nacetyl Dmethionine, to replace
dietary Lmethionine (Burns and Milner, 1981).
Hirakawa and Baker (1984) found that the dietary sulfur amino acid requirement of English Pointer puppies for maximal growth rate and efficiency of weight gain was
approximately 0.45 percent. In dogs fed diets containing limited methionine, excess cystine caused anorexia, growth depression, and severe skin lesions on the neck,
tail, and foot pads.
Blaza et al. (1982) studied the sulfur amino acid requirements of growing Labrador and Beagle dogs in three experiments. In two of these experiments the diets were
based on isolated soy protein supplemented with methionine, while in the third experiment a crystalline amino acid diet was used. For the isolated soy protein diet
supplemented with 0.15 percent cystine, the addition of 0.39 percent methionine gave significantly lower body weight gains, nitrogen retention, and food intakes than
0.57 or 0.74 percent methionine. Intakes of 116 mg total sulfur amino acids (TSAA)/100 kcal ME were inadequate, but 154 mg TSAA/100 kcal ME appeared
adequate for Labrador dogs. These studies indicated that the dog's breed may influence methionine requirements, since Labradors but not Beagles responded to
increasing the methionine content from 0.36 to 0.71 percent by increased weight gains and food intakes. These data also indicate that methionine available from
isolated soy preparations must be considered in evaluating the adequacy of diets.
Estimates of minimal total sulfur amino acid requirements for normal growth have ranged from 0.39 to 0.71 percent in diets of comparable caloric value. The minimal
recommendation has been set at 1.06 g/1,000 kcal ME.
Methionine is often considered a limiting amino acid in many normal protein sources. Methionine supplementation is known to reduce the quantity of these protein
sources required for adult dogs (Allison et al., 1947). Kade et al. (1948) reported that a daily intake of 140 mg nitrogen from casein per kilogram of body weight was
adequate to support nitrogen balance in adult dogs. The quantity of nitrogen could be reduced to 90 mg per kilogram of body weight when the casein was
supplemented with methionine. Arnold and Schad (1954) reported that the addition of 1 g DLmethionine to 100 g casein protein reduced the quantity of nitrogen
required for nitrogen equilibrium from 139 to 102 mg per kilogram of body weight. Addition of 3 g DLmethionine reduced the quantity of nitrogen required for
equilibrium to 72 mg per kilogram of body weight. These authors concluded that the sulfur amino acid requirement of the mature dog was approximately 30 mg
Page 12
per kilogram of body weight per day when the sulfur amino acid component contained about 89 percent methionine and 11 percent cystine. This quantity is lower than
the minimum of 43 mg/kg/d reported by Ward (1975) to maintain nitrogen equilibrium in 15kg adult dogs and has been considered the requirement. Similar to rats,
pigs, and rabbits, the mature dog (Cho et al., 1980) apparently utilizes Dmethionine as efficiently as Lmethionine.
Phenylalanine and Tyrosine Phenylalanine is a dietary essential for the immature dog (Milner, 1979a). Dietary phenylalanine requirements have been reported to be
less than 0.58 percent when 0.35 percent tyrosine was present in the diet (Milner, 1979a). Deletion of tyrosine from purified Lamino acid diets did not significantly
influence growth when excess phenylalanine (1.16 percent) was present in the diet. The percentage of the phenylalanine requirement that can be met by tyrosine
remains to be determined, but it is probably similar to the 50 percent observed in other mammals. Based on data with other species, the recommendations are for 1.95
g total aromatic amino acids per 1,000 kcal ME, of which 50 percent can be supplied as tyrosine. Ward (1975) suggested that the phenylalanine requirement for
maintainance of nitrogen equilibrium in the mature dog is 51 mg/kg/d or 85.8 mg/kg/d of phenylalanine and tyrosine, and this has been taken as the requirement.
Threonine The threonine requirement of the immature dog has been investigated by Milner (1979b) and Burns and Milner (1982). Studies utilizing purified Lamino
acid diets containing the equivalent of 14 percent protein have revealed that 0.52 percent threonine meets the requirement for optimal growth, feed efficiency, and
nitrogen retention. This intake is equivalent to 254 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, which is proposed as the requirement (1.27 g/1,000 kcal ME). Signs of
neurological dysfunction and/or lameness have been reported in kittens fed a threoninedeficient or imbalanced diet (Titchenal et al., 1980). However, these signs have
not been reported in dogs. The estimate of Ward (1975), that the threonine requirement to maintain nitrogen balance of the mature dog is 44 mg/kg/d, was chosen as
the requirement.
Tryptophan The dietary tryptophan requirement of the immature dog has been met by supplying 145 mg/d/kg0.75 or by supplying 0.17 percent dietary tryptophan
(Burns and Milner, 1982). Czarnecki and Baker (1982) reported that the tryptophan requirement for optimal growth of weanling English Pointers 6 to 10 weeks old
was at least 0.16 percent, between 0.12 and 0.16 percent for 10 to 12weekold puppies, and 0.12 percent for 12 to 14week old puppies. Their studies also
revealed that Dtryptophan utilization was 36 ± 6 percent (X ± SD) that of Ltryptophan. Based on the above studies, the requirement for tryptophan has been placed
at 82 mg per kilogram of body weight per day or 0.41 g/1,000 kcal ME of dietary energy.
The metabolism of D and Ltryptophan by mature dogs was compared by Triebwasser et al. (1976). Kynurenic acid was shown to be a major urinary metabolite of L
tryptophan (Brown and Price, 1956; Triebwasser et al., 1976). However, unchanged Dtryptophan, Dkynurenine, and kynurenic acid were the major metabolites of
Dtryptophan. The inversion of Dtryptophan to Ltryptophan via indolepyruvic acid appeared to be one of the major fates of ingested Dtryptophan in the mature dog.
The minimum quantity of tryptophan that is required to maintain nitrogen equilibrium in adult dogs was estimated by Ward (1975) to be 13 mg per kilogram of body
weight per day, and has been set as the daily requirement.
Protein Digestibility
The digestibility of some sources of protein has been evaluated in the dog. Hegsted et al. (1947) found that the apparent digestibility of proteins in an allvegetable diet
containing white bread, corn, rice, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and applesauce was 80.0 ± 7.7 percent (X ± SD). James and McCay (1950) reported
that the apparent protein digestibility of commercial, drytype food, containing both vegetable and animal proteins, ranged from 67 to 82 percent for adult dogs.
Kendall and Holme (1982) reported the apparent crude protein (N × 6.25) digestibility coefficients for textured soy protein, extracted soy meal, fullfat soy flour, and
micronized whole soybeans ranged from 71 to 87 percent. Moore et al. (1980) reported apparent digestibility values of soybean meal, corn, rice, and oats by mature
Pointers to be in the range of 77 to 88 percent. Their data revealed that normal cooking procedures did not significantly influence the digestibility of rice, oat, or corn
protein. Their data also indicated that increasing the fat content of the diet from 10 to 20 percent did not alter the digestibility of nitrogen in a cornsoybeanbased diet.
Studies of Burns et al. (1982) have shown that the apparent digestibilities of lactalbumin, casein, soy protein, and wheat gluten are 87, 85, 78, and 77 percent,
respectively. The digestibilities of these proteins were 5 to 10 percent greater in the immature rat than observed in the immature dog.
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Dispensable Amino Acids And Total Nitrogen
Requirements for Growth Voit (1881) recognized that different minima exist with respect to meeting dietary protein needs. Cathcart (1921) noted ''that the search for
an absolute minimum is like the search of the philosopher for absolute truth. There is not one minimum but many protein minima—[each] a resultant of many factors."
The percentage dietary protein needed should be related to the energy content of the diet (Allison, 1951). Campbell and Phillips (1953) reported that adding fat to a
19.7 percent protein diet inhibited the growth of growing puppies. Normal growth resumed when 0.3 percent methionine was added to the diet. Ontko et al. (1957)
estimated the dietary protein requirements of growing Beagle, Shepherd, and ShepherdCollie puppies fed a dry diet containing 20 or 30 percent fat supplied primarily
as lard (4.02 or 4.57 kcal ME/g). They concluded on the basis of weight gain, feed efficiency, and physical condition that 25.0 percent protein was required in diets
containing 20 percent fat and that 28.9 percent was required if the diet contained 30 percent fat.
Estimates of the protein requirements for growth of puppies have been reported by Heiman (1947), Gessert and Phillips (1956), Ontko et al. (1957), and Burns et al.
(1982). Heiman (1947) examined the protein requirement of immature Cocker Spaniels by varying the proportion of a protein mixture containing 15 percent fish meal,
46 percent meat meal, and 39 percent soybean meal with a carbohydrate mixture containing cooked, flaked cereals. Based upon weight gain and appearance, it was
concluded that 15 percent dietary protein on an airdry basis was inadequate, but 20 percent was sufficient. Using English Setter puppies from 9 to 23 weeks of age,
increasing dietary protein from 23 to 27 percent did not result in improved weight gain or appearance.
Gessert and Phillips (1956) fed 6 to 7weekold Beagle and mongrel puppies a basal diet containing 10.6 crude protein (3.38 kcal ME/g) supplied as dried skim
milk, alfalfa leaf meal, dried primary brewers' yeast, soybean meal, and yellow corn. The basal diet was supplemented with casein to obtain a final protein
concentration of 12.8, 15.0, 17.2, or 19.4 percent. The basal diet was substantially improved by the addition of 2.5 percent casein (2.2 percent protein), but
additional casein caused little further improvement.
The minimum percent of dietary protein required by the dog decreases with age after weaning. Data of Burns et al. (1982) indicated that the immature Beagle 8 to 10
weeks of age has a dietary protein requirement of approximately 15.0 percent when lactalbumin is the source of nitrogen and the metabolizable content of the diet is
4.2 kcal/g. However, the requirement was 11.7 percent when the Beagle puppy was 13 to 17 weeks of age. Expressed in grams of protein/d/kg0.75, the requirement
was estimated to be 14.0 and 9.3 for dogs 8 to 10 and 13 to 17 weeks old, respectively. These requirements are higher than the theoretical estimates of Miller and
Payne (1963) and Payne (1965). Based on these studies, 9.5 percent protein from lactalbumin or an equivalentquality protein source in diets containing 3.3 kcal
ME/g should satisfy essential and indispensable amino acid requirements of the growing dog.
Requirements for Adult Maintenance Melnick and Cowgill (1937) studied adult dogs minimally depleted of their protein reserves and estimated that approximately
12 percent dietary protein from casein was required to maintain nitrogen equilibrium. Expressing the dietary requirement for lactalbumin, beef serum proteins, casein,
and gliadin as a percentage of ME intake, values of 6.9, 8.6, 9.4, and 21.1 percent, respectively, were obtained. Kade et al. (1948) maintained nitrogen balance in
adult dogs (5 to 14 kg) with 80 to 90 mg lactalbumin, 100 to 110 mg blood fibrin, or 130 to 140 mg casein per kilogram of body weight per day. These data suggest
that on a dry matter basis a diet containing 6.5 percent casein or equivalent is adequate to maintain nitrogen equilibrium in the adult dog.
Protein reserves may be important in protecting the dog against a variety of stresses. Although 140 mg casein nitrogen per kilogram of body weight per day (6.5
percent of a drytype diet) can sustain nitrogen equilibrium in a proteindepleted dog, susceptibility to the toxic effects of phosphosamides (used in cancer
chemotherapy) and 2Aminofluorene (a carcinogen) is greater than when the protein reserves are maintained by feeding 600 mg casein nitrogen per kilogram of body
weight per day (16 percent drytype diet) (Allison et al., 1954; McCoy et al., 1956).
Wannemacher and McCoy (1966) established that both 1yearold and 12 to 13yearold dogs can be maintained in nitrogen equilibrium with approximately 200 mg
casein nitrogen per kilogram of body weight per day. Liver and muscle protein to DNA ratios reached maximal values in 1yearolds fed 400 mg casein nitrogen per
kilogram of body weight per day, while 600 mg was required in 12 to 13yearold dogs. These results, and a significantly lower rate of incorporation of leucine into
liver and muscle protein of older dogs, suggest that age may be associated with less efficient cellular protein anabolism. These studies suggest that approximately 6
percent protein as casein in a diet containing 3.5 to 4.0 kcal ME per gram should meet the needs of the older dog
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for nitrogen equilibrium, but that higher concentrations may be needed to support optimum cellular integrity. Dietary protein requirements of approximately 6.0 percent
are consistent with theoretical estimates made by Payne (1965).
Considerable debate remains regarding the interpretation of a value for protein requirement for nitrogen equilibrium and the potential benefits of higher intakes to
maintain tissue protein stores. Kendall et al. (1982) reported that adult dogs (1 to 7 years old) ranging in body weight from 2.8 to 51.0 kg had a minimum
metabolizable dietary protein (N × 6.25) requirement of 1.7 g/kg0.75 body weight to replenish a mean daily endogenous nitrogen loss of 273 mg/kg0.75. Additional data
are needed to determine if consumption at that quantity would maintain an acceptable steady state in the adult dog.
Requirements for Reproduction and Lactation The protein and amino acid needs for reproduction and lactation have not been well defined. Additional research is
needed to determine if the amino acid requirements for reproduction and lactation may exceed those for growth.
Ontko and Phillips (1958) examined the reproductive performance of mature Beagle and Cocker Spaniel bitches fed a semipurified diet containing 20 percent casein
for 2.5 years. Supplementation with 10 percent fresh liver, 5 percent alcoholextracted or untreated casein, 2 percent liver extract, or 5 percent autoclaved egg white
improved the vigor of the newborn pups and reduced postnatal mortality to between 22 and 35 percent. Unfortunately in this study, a maximum of only five litters were
born to any treatment, and the mortality was 62 percent in pups from bitches fed the basal diet.
Studies by Visek et al. (1976) examined the reproductive performances of Beagle bitches fed diets containing 25 to 26 percent crude protein from corn, soybean
meal, meat and bone meal, fish meal, and dried skim milk with or without the addition of dried brewers' grains and yeast. Twelve of the 15 dogs maintained their
nitrogen equilibrium and weight during these studies. The percent of puppies born alive in all treatments was approximately 85.
Requirements for Muscular Activity Protein requirements of working dogs have not been thoroughly evaluated. Kronfeld et al. (1977) published information
indicating that consumption of a highprotein (52.8 percent), highfat (36.7 percent) diet may offer advantages in physical performance in sled dogs compared to diets
containing a high level of carbohydrates. Whether the improvements were associated with increased protein consumption or with conditioning the dogs to metabolize
greater quantities of fat remains to be determined. It is clear that these dogs did acclimate to the high fat and protein diet without any apparent ill consequences. These
dogs had a higher oxygen capacity and higher serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and albumin. Research with other species suggests that if the energy
requirements are met, protein needs are not significantly greater than those for maintenance. Hard work increases caloric expenditure, reducing food intake as a
consequence of fatigue (Orr, 1966). In order to encourage adequate food intake of hardworking dogs, it may be necessary to increase the palatability of the diet by
adding fat and protein. It is not known whether other types of stressful conditions increase the demand for dietary protein.
Minerals
It is common practice to include all the minerals shown to be required by other mammals in the formulation of dog diets, even though the quantitative requirements for
all minerals have not been established experimentally for this species. The mineral concentrations used in dog diets are generally based on estimates extrapolated from
the requirements of other species; from data obtained from studies that involve dogs and that, although not designed to establish nutrient requirements, nevertheless
yielded nutritional information; or from experience with diets that have resulted in acceptable performances in dogs.
Limited controlled published data on quantitative mineral requirements of dogs is not the only complication in making an estimate of mineral requirements for dogs. The
interactions between dietary mineral concentrations, availability of minerals in different compounds, and the breed of dog involved are factors that may modify
individual mineral requirements. Many of the papers used as the basis for estimating the mineral requirements for dogs only contain information regarding the
concentration of the mineral of interest and not a complete dietary mineral profile, which precludes the evaluation of possible interactions. In some cases the compound
containing the mineral of interest is not identified, so the biological availability of the mineral cannot be determined, nor is the breed of dog or the type of diet involved in
the study always stated. Perhaps the factor of most concern regarding the controlled data available for estimating the mineral requirements for dogs is that a large
percentage of the research was conducted two or three decades ago. Differences in feed
Page 15
manufacturing procedures or use of different ingredients may have an effect on the availability of some minerals.
Since publication of the last revision (NRC, 1974) of this report, data have not been published that would substantially alter the estimated mineral requirements of
dogs. In order to be consistent throughout the present report, however, minimum mineral requirements are expressed without compensating for factors that influence
mineral availability. The estimated requirements for most minerals are based on the lowest concentrations in purified diets that have resulted in acceptable performance.
The requirements for most minerals in previous revisions of this report have been based on concentrations in natural ingredient diets, which are generally higher than
concentrations used in purified diets.
Much work has recently been reported involving the effects of various minerals on different isolated tissues from dogs. These data provide a considerable amount of
information on the role of minerals in the metabolic process, but they do not provide any information about the quantitative requirements of the intact dog. The toxic
effects of feeding high concentrations of individual minerals to dogs have received some attention during the last several years. A detailed discussion of these results is
beyond the scope of this report. However, results of these studies have been incorporated in a recent report, Mineral Tolerance of Domestic Animals (NRC,
1980).
The differences in mineral requirements for gestation, lactation, maintenance, and muscular effort have not been defined, although the dietary mineral requirements
probably change with the stage of the life cycle or activity. As energy intake increases in relation to the extra demands of milk production or exercise, daily intake of
minerals would be expected to increase. Therefore, the estimated mineral requirements in this report are estimated to meet the requirements of the entire life cycle of
the dog.
The ash fraction represents total mineral content of dog diets. Generally, 4 to 5 percent of the dry matter as ash provides adequate amounts of minerals to meet the
requirements for dogs. Frequently the ash concentration of commercial dog diets is somewhat higher (7 to 9 percent of the dry matter) because of the unavoidably high
ash content of some ingredients commonly used in the formulation of dog foods. There is no apparent relationship between excess dietary ash and clinical signs of
disease in dogs. High dietary ash may, however, indicate a compromise in diet quality.
Calcium and Phosphorus
Requirements
Calcium and phosphorus are considered together because of their close metabolic association. The ratio of dietary calcium and phosphorus may be as important for
good nutrition but is of lesser significance than the absolute concentration of these minerals. A calcium: phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1 to 1.4:1 (by weight) in dog diets is
generally considered optimal for maximum utilization. An optimal calcium: phosphorus ratio also minimizes the vitamin D requirement. The availability of calcium and
phosphorus is a major factor affecting the dietary requirements of these elements (Schedle et al., 1968). Diets high in phytates or low in vitamin D adversely influence
calcium absorption (Mellanby, 1920; HoffJørgensen, 1946). However, vitamin D supplementation of diets low in calcium can cause pathological fractures, lameness,
abnormal stance, and loss of skeletal density (Campbell, 1962).
Morgan (1934) reported that diets supplying about 0.50 percent calcium and 0.65 percent phosphorus permitted normal bone development in some dogs given
adequate vitamin D. Others, mainly larger breeds, developed signs of mild rickets when the calcium intakes were between 100 and 175 mg per kilogram of body
weight per day. Retention ranged between 42 and 120 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. This was lower than reported by HoffJørgensen (1946), who fed
diets higher in calcium to dogs weighing 0.9 to 5.3 kg. The latter retention rates of 200 to 300 mg/d are in good agreement with those obtained by Udall and McCay
(1953) with young Beagles fed fresh bone.
HoffJørgensen (1946) supplied each of two 30dayold puppies with 1 g of calcium and 1 g of phosphorus daily. The amount of calcium and phosphorus retained
averaged between 0.2 and 0.3 g daily through the first 200 days of age, despite an approximate sixfold increase in body weight. Retention tended to be slightly higher
during the third and fourth months than at other times in the growth period. The average retention of calcium observed during the experiment was about 75 mg per
kilogram of body weight per day (maximum 160 mg/kg/d). Addition of phytic acid to the diet decreased calcium absorption and retention but increased absorption and
retention of phosphorus. HoffJørgensen postulated that phystate caused the precipitation of calcium in the intestinal lumen as insoluble calcium phytate.
The utilization of calcium has been reported to vary from 50 to 80 percent (Morgan, 1934; McCay, 1949). Since the intestine normally controls the body status,
excess calcium is excreted primarily in the feces. Jenkins
Page 16
and Phillips (1960b) and Henrikson (1968) found that growing puppies required approximately 0.60 percent calcium in the diet for normal growth and for
mineralization of the skeleton. Increasing the dietary fat from 2 to 3 percent did not influence the calcium requirement.
In a study of "overnutrition" and skeletal disease, Hedhammer et al. (1974) fed a diet to Great Dane puppies containing, on a dry basis, 36 percent protein, 14 percent
fat, 40 percent carbohydrate, and 10 percent ash. Significant chondroosseous changes, reflected in lameness and pain upon palpation of the skeleton, enlargement of
the costochondral junctions and the epiphysealmetaphyseal regions of long bones, hyperextension of the carpus, and sinking of the metacarpo and metatarso
phalangeal joints were observed. Excessive intake of various nutrients may have led to these complications, since the diet contained (on a dry basis) 2.05 percent
calcium, 1.44 percent phosphorus, 0.27 percent magnesium, and 4,000 IU vitamin D per kilogram—all appreciably in excess of presumed requirements.
In a study of the calcium:phosphorus ratio in relation to periodontal diseases, Henrikson (1968) fed adult Beagles a purified diet containing 0.12 percent calcium and
1.20 percent phosphorus. The progressive loss of alveolar bone was so severe that by 12 months the incisor teeth became easily detached. Histopathological
examination revealed progressive parathyroid changes associated with hyperfunction. Such changes were not observed in control groups fed 0.54 percent calcium and
0.42 percent phosphorus.
The retention of phosphorus has been reported to range from 12 to 43 percent (average 23 percent) (Morgan, 1934; HoffJørgensen, 1946). Jenkins and Phillips
(1960a) found that a diet containing 0.33 percent dietary phosphorus provided the same amount of growth as a diet containing 0.53 percent phosphorus. Retention
was 76 percent, which indicates a minimum requirement of 0.25 percent for available phosphorus. About 45 percent of the phosphorus was present as phytic
phosphorus, and the calcium content was 0.60 percent. The phosphorus requirement increased by 10 to 15 percent when the calcium was increased to 0.9 or 1.2
percent. Increasing the dietary fat from 3 to 20 percent increased the phosphorus requirement about 20 percent. These observations indicate that the requirement for
phosphorus would be expected to be met if the diet contained 0.5 percent of total phosphorus from other than plant sources, provided there was a desirable
calcium:phosphorus ratio, and availability was 50 percent or greater.
Dogs of some types and breeds may perform satisfactorily on lower intakes of these minerals. Gershoff et al. (1958) maintained two dogs for 34 months on a purified
diet that was only 0.11 percent calcium from the time they were 2 to 3 months of age. Compared to littermates fed a 0.63 percent or 1.23 percent calcium diet, no
differences in fatfree bone ash or in growth rates were observed. The dietary calcium on the 0.11 percent calcium diet was 90 percent utilized compared to utilizations
of 46 and 27 percent, respectively, when 0.63 or 1.23 percent calcium diets were fed. Under practical conditions, 90 percent utilization of calcium would not be
expected. Gershoff et al. (1958) did not report analyses of phosphorus, but calculations based on published values show that the calcium:phosphorus ratio was about
0.2:1 on the lowest level. The authors concluded that the animals adapted to this diet. However, in view of Henrikson's (1968) studies with dogs beginning when the
dogs were 1 year old, it seems probable that changes in mandibular bone would have resulted from the 0.11 percent calcium diet if it was fed over an extended period
of time. Krook et al. (1971) have confirmed Henrikson's findings. Repletion with adequate calcium begins in the laminae dura dentes and is followed by the vertebrae
and the long bones.
The salt mixture formulated by Phillips and Hart (1935) (calcium:phosphorus ratio of approximately 1.9:1.0) has been used to provide the minerals for numerous
purified experimental dog diets without reported ill effects. Diets would contain about 0.5 percent calcium when this salt mixture is 4 percent of the total diet.
It is recognized that there are many breeds of dogs, that they are maintained under a wide range of environments, and are being fed a variety of foods of animal and
plant origin. There also remain unknown factors that may adversely influence the utilization of minerals, including calcium and phosphorus in many natural ingredient
diets. However, based on existing experimental data, it is proposed that diets containing 1.6 g calcium and 1.2 g phosphorus per 1,000 kcal ME will meet the minimum
requirements of normal dogs.
Signs Of Deficiency And Imbalance
Adequate calcium and phosphorus nutrition depends on an adequate supply of available calcium and phosphorus, a suitable calciumphosphorus ratio, and adequate
vitamin D.
In dogs calcium deficiency is associated with progressive parathyroid hyperplasia (nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism). The rate of bone loss and osteoporosis
depends on the skeletal region involved. Jawbones show earliest signs, followed by other skull bones, ribs, vertebrae, and finally the long bones. Loss of calcium from
the jawbones can lead to recession of alveolar bone and gingiva. Detachment of the teeth and other signs of deficiency may appear before compression
Page 17
of vertebrae and fractures of long bone. With rather severe calcium deficiency, the morphologic picture is characterized by excessive bone resorption, whereas
defective mineralization associated with the osteodystrophy of rickets is not readily observed except in the growing puppy.
Calcium deficiencies may result in tetany and convulsions, reproductive failures, spontaneous fractures, and altered requirements for other nutrients such as magnesium.
An uncomplicated deficiency of phosphorus seldom occurs in dogs except under experimental conditions. In young dogs, low phosphorus intake will lead to rickets,
poor growth, and a depraved appetite. In adults, low phosphorus intake leads to osteomalacia. Excessive intake of phosphorus relative to calcium leads to signs of
calcium deficiency.
Potassium
The potassium concentration in commercial dry dog foods typically varies between 0.70 and 0.85 percent. Ruegamer et al. (1946) fed purified lowpotassium diets (5
kcal ME/g) to dogs and produced poor growth, restlessness, and paralysis of the neck and the forepart of the body. Administration of a single 3g dose of potassium
chloride by capsule and inclusion of the salt in the diet at a 0.6 percent level relieved these conditions and permitted normal growth. This amount, equivalent to that
obtained from a diet containing 0.32 percent potassium, provided about 70 mg of potassium per kilogram of body weight daily when the diet was fed at the rate of 22
g per kilogram of body weight.
Serrano et al. (1964) found that feeding lowpotassium diets to pregnant bitches did not affect litter size or birth weight of the puppies, although the bitches had
reduced concentrations of blood potassium. In contrast to their dams, the puppies had normal blood and muscle electrolyte concentrations.
Dogs can be severely depleted of potassium in 30 days and repleted in 14 days (Abbrecht, 1972). An allowance for growth of 264 mg of potassium per kilogram of
body weight per day is suggested as a minimum. This amount is considerably less than the 530 mg/kg provided by the salt mixture formulated by Phillips and Hart
(1935), but that mixture was intended to provide generous amounts, and no data regarding potassium requirements were available when it was formulated. It is
estimated that the potassium requirements of normal dogs will be met by providing a concentration of 1.2 g potassium per 1,000 kcal dietary metabolizable energy.
Signs of deficiency are poor growth, restlessness, muscular paralysis, a tendency to dehydration, and lesions of the heart and kidney.
Sodium and Chlorine
The general practice is to include 1 percent sodium chloride in all dry dog diets, which provides approximately 95 mg sodium and 147 mg chlorine per kilogram of
body weight per day. This amount is considered the appropriate allowance in that it meets the requirements and is not excessive for normal dogs, but the minimum
requirement is greatly exceeded. Some natural feedstuffs may contain enough sodium and chlorine to meet minimum requirements, while various water supplies contain
ample sodium.
In experiments with dogs fed a diet containing 2 percent added sodium chloride, McCay (1949) observed greaterthannormal water intake but normal health.
Dogs fed less than 23 mg sodium per kilogram of body weight per day showed changes in concentrations of bloodpressureregulating hormones in 3 days, whereas
dogs fed 80 mg/kg did not show these changes (Bunag et al., 1966; Ganong and Boreyzka, 1967; Brubacher and Vander, 1968). However, there were no other
effects detected.
Morris et al. (1976) fed a diet containing 0.0075 percent sodium to adult dogs for 23 weeks and reported no adverse effects. These results were similar to those
published by Hamlin et al. (1964), which also indicated that dogs have a low sodium requirement. Based on these results, it is estimated that 0.15 g of sodium per
1,000 kcal dietary metabolizable energy is adequate for dogs. In past revisions of Nutrient Requirements of Dogs, requirements for sodium and chloride were
expressed in terms of a requirement for NaCl. In the absence of studies establishing chloride requirements for dogs, a value of 0.23 g/1,000 kcal ME, or 1.5 times the
stated requirement for sodium, was used as the chloride requirement. This value is in keeping with the Na:Cl requirement ratio for other species.
Humans with inadequate sodium chloride intake become easily fatigued. McCance (1936) and McCance and Widdowson (1944) have observed similar fatigue in
dogs and decreased utilization of protein in humans and dogs during prolonged sodium chloride deficiency.
Thus, signs of deficiency are fatigue, exhaustion, inability to maintain water balance, decreased water intake, retarded growth, dryness of skin, and loss of hair.
Magnesium
Magnesium has been shown to be a dietary essential for the dog (Orent et al., 1932). However, the published experimental results regarding the quantitative dietary
requirements for this mineral are inconsistent. On the basis of results obtained from studies involving graded concentrations of dietary magnesium, Bunce et al.
Page 18
(1962a,b) concluded that the magnesium requirement of weanling Beagle pups fed a purified diet was 140 mg/kg, while the requirement for mature dogs ranged from
80 to 180 mg/kg. They also reported that the severity of the magnesium deficiency syndrome was increased by elevation of the dietary calcium and phosphorus
concentrations from 0.6 to 0.9 percent and 0.4 to 0.9 percent, respectively. Vitale et al. (1961) fed magnesiumdeficient diets to dogs and observed a series of
changes that did not occur in dogs fed the basal diet with 960 mg magnesium and 5,000 mg potassium added per kilogram diet. This high magnesium concentration
was presumably used to ensure an adequate intake. Kahil et al. (1966) reported dogs fed diets containing 5 mg magnesium per kilogram developed convulsive seizures
and alterations in sodium and potassium transport, whereas dogs receiving 16 mg magnesium as anhydrous magnesium oxide per kilogram of body weight per day did
not have any clinical signs of deficiency. Morris (1963) reported that when weanling puppies were fed diets containing 30, 100, or 320 mg magnesium per kilogram,
the calcium concentrations in the aorta were 8,320; 5,450; and 980 mg/kg (dry tissue), respectively, indicating an interaction in the absorption or retention of these
minerals. Romsos et al. (1976) used magnesium oxide concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 0.035 percent (250 to 350 mg/kg) in experimental purified diets without
observing any clinical signs of magnesium deficiency. Based on the foregoing data, the magnesium requirements for dogs should be met by dietary concentrations of
0.11 g/1,000 kcal ME.
Signs of Deficiency
Anorexia, vomiting, decreased weight gain, and hyperextension of the front legs were observed in puppies (7 to 9 weeks of age initially) that were fed a purified diet
containing less than 5 mg/kg magnesium for 3 weeks (Kahil et al., 1966). By 4 to 6 weeks the puppies fed this diet showed irritability, ataxia of hind legs, convulsive
seizures, and alterations in sodium and potassium transport. Similar deficiency signs were reported in puppies fed a magnesiumdeficient diet containing 0.6 percent
calcium and 0.5 percent phosphorus with 8 percent fat (Bunce et al., 1962a). These authors reported that the dogs' blood serum magnesium and calcium
concentrations were depressed and that their inorganic phosphorus was elevated. At necropsy, aortas of these animals contained extreme mineralized lesions, primarily
calcium and phosphorus deposits. They also reported that a much longer depletion period was required to demonstrate magnesium deficiency in mature dogs than in
puppies. In mature dogs there was a loss in body weight and a depression in serum magnesium but no changes in serum calcium or phosphorus. Vitale et al. (1961)
recorded electrocardiographic changes in puppies fed magnesiumdeficient diets that were similar to those seen in hyperkalemia. Subsequent studies in 4 to 6month
old dogs demonstrated a relationship between magnesium and potassium deficiencies. Hyperkalemia and marked electrocardiographic changes were recorded in two
dogs that received a low magnesium diet for 9 months; these changes were similar to those observed in dogs deficient in both magnesium and potassium.
Iron
Both iron and copper are essential for preventing anemia. Most of the iron is in the respiratory pigments (hemoglobin and myoglobin) and in various enzymes. The
characteristic anemia associated with an iron deficiency is of a hypochromic, microcytic type. However, hypochromic anemias may also occur when the total iron
content of the body is normal, indicating that factors other than total body iron are also involved (Moore, 1963). Usually, 5 to 10 percent of the oral iron intake is
absorbed (Stewart and Gambino, 1961; Talwar et al., 1961; Pollack et al., 1963, 1964). However, many factors influence absorption, including the chemical form of
the iron (Brown, 1963; Fritz et al., 1970), associated food proteins (Fitch et al., 1964), mineral balance of the diet, hormone balance (Cline and Berlin, 1963),
freedom from intestinal abscesses (Hahn et al., 1946), vitamin stores, severity of anemia (Koepke and Stewart, 1964a,b), and diurnal variations (Goldstone et al.,
1962). The gastric juice from anemic dogs contains a substance that increases the absorption of iron from the gastrointestinal tract. When the gastric juices from
anemic dogs and iron were given to normal dogs, the absorption of iron was significantly increased (Koepke and Stewart, 1964a,b; Arriaga de la Cabada et al.,
1969).
The iron of wheat bran has been shown to be as available for dogs as that of ferric pyrophosphate, but that of spinach is less than half as available (Frost et al., 1940).
These findings conform with the relative availability of the iron in those three sources when fed to rats and suggest that availability for the rat may be used as a guide for
dogs. Elvehjem et al. (1933, 1934) and Sherman et al. (1934) have shown the iron of inorganic salts, liver, heart, muscle, and soybeans to be readily available (50
percent or more utilized), while the utilization from oysters, alfalfa, spinach, blood, wheat, oats, and yeast was lower (25 percent utilized). Dogs utilize iron from
porphyrin compounds, such as hemoglobin and myoglobin (Udall and McCay, 1953; Bannerman, 1965). There are variations in the efficiency with which various
species utilize iron from ironcontaining salts. Ferric ammonium
Page 19
citrate and ferrous sulfate are highly effective for preventing anemia in a number of species (Wintrobe, 1967; Fritz et al., 1970).
Ruegamer et al. (1946) maintained normal hemoglobin in Collie puppies that received 3 mg iron as ferric pyrophosphate per kilogram of body weight per day. Other
puppies, made anemic by an ironfree diet, did not recover when 0.4 mg ferric pyrophosphate per kilogram of body weight was supplied daily, but they did recover
when the supplement was increased to 0.6 mg/kg (0.2 mg iron). When the supplement was increased to 1 mg, more iron was absorbed and utilized, but the
percentage of utilization dropped from about 60 percent (0.6 mg per kilogram of body weight level) to about 36 percent (1 mg per kilogram of body weight level).
Frost et al. (1940) also obtained 60 to 70 percent utilization of inorganic iron supplements and indicated that absorption may sometimes approach 100 percent. With
intakes of 0.6 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, normal values of 100 to 200 µg iron per 100 ml plasma were found. When the smaller quantities were fed,
plasma iron concentrations decreased.
On the basis of this evidence, it would seem that 1.32 mg dietary iron per kilogram of body weight per day should meet the needs of puppies, adult dogs, or anemic
dogs that are synthesizing hemoglobin. The intake required for regeneration of hemoglobin is less than 0.66 mg absorbable iron per kilogram of body weight
(Ruegamer et al., 1946). If a large amount of the iron came from soluble inorganic salts, the allowance might be reduced, but reduction seems inadvisable in view of
lack of information about the effect of other dietary constituents on iron absorption. McCance and Widdowson (1944) found that many substances (e.g., phosphates
and phytates) depress utilization of dietary iron. Likewise, iron from insoluble iron salts and certain slightly soluble sources is poorly utilized. The allowance suggested,
1.32 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, is slightly in excess of that provided by the widely used mineral mixture suggested by Phillips and Hart (1935).
However, the reports of satisfactory nutrition in dogs fed the Phillips and Hart mixture have been based on refined diets rather than on mixtures of natural foodstuffs,
which may contain interfering substances.
On the basis of the available experimental data, it is proposed that a concentration of 8.7 mg iron per 1,000 kcal dietary metabolizable energy will meet the minimum
requirements of normal dogs.
Signs Of Deficiency
Iron is a part of the hemoglobin molecule and is essential for oxygen transport. Thus, irondeficient dogs exhibit anemia and tissue anoxia. The mean corpuscular
hemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular volume are decreased, and the anemia may be characterized as microcytic and hypochromic. While not all
hypochromic anemias are attributable to iron deficiency (Moore, 1963), serum iron of irondeficient dogs will be depressed, and the erythropoietic system will respond
quickly to irondextran administered orally, intramuscularly, or intraperitoneally.
Toxicity
Iron toxicity in dogs has been studied extensively (Cibis et al., 1957; Brown et al., 1959; Bronson and Sisson, 1960; D'Arcy and Howard, 1962a,b) and is associated
with anorexia, weight loss, and decreased serum albumin concentration. Although some dogs have been fed as long as 18 months on diets containing 1 percent iron
oxide, other iron salts have proved toxic at very low intakes (D'Arcy and Howard, 1962a). Ferrous sulfate administered orally produced gastrointestinal damage when
fed in a dosage of 0.012 g per kilogram of body weight. Ferrous carbonate did not produce such changes at 1.5 g per kilogram of body weight, but did so at 3 g/kg.
Mineral Tolerance of Domestic Animals (NRC, 1980) contains additional information regarding iron toxicity in dogs.
Copper
Copper has been shown to be a dietary essential for prevention of anemia in dogs. Linton (1934) and Frost et al. (1939) reported that during copper deficiency iron
was absorbed, but hemoglobin was not formed efficiently. Hemoglobin regeneration in anemic dogs (13 kg) did not occur unless 2 mg copper per day were given.
This amount of copper also met the requirement for growth.
Tinedt et al. (1979) reported a copper toxicosis in Bedlington terriers fed commercial dog diets containing 5 to 10 mg copper per kilogram of diet. Ludwig et al.
(1980) studied this disease in considerable detail and concluded that it is unique to this breed of dog and is caused by a genetic abnormality. Keen et al. (1981)
measured hepatic concentrations of various minerals in Beagles and reported that the concentration of copper did not change while the pups were between 8 and 193
days of age.
The copper requirement for the majority of dog breeds appears to be quite low. It is estimated that a minimum of 0.8 mg copper per 1,000 kcal ME will meet the
requirements of normal dogs, provided other dietary mineral concentrations are not excessive.
Page 20
Manganese
There is essentially no published information regarding the manganese requirements for dogs, nor is there any description of the deficiency signs in this species.
However, this mineral is known to have a role in catalyzing several metabolic reactions in other mammalian species. It is common practice to include manganese in
diets for dogs. Ingredients used in natural ingredient dog diets may contribute adequate amounts of manganese to meet requirements, and it may not be necessary to
add manganese to this type of diet. Based on the requirements of other animal species, it is estimated that the minimum manganese requirement for dogs is 1.4
mg/1,000 kcal ME.
Zinc
Although zinc metabolism in dogs was studied in considerable detail as early as the 1920s (Drinker et al., 1927), few reports have been published regarding the zinc
requirements of this species. A zinc deficiency was reported in dogs (breeds not indicated) by Robertson and Burns (1963) when 2 percent calcium carbonate was
added to a diet containing 0.3 percent calcium and 33 mg zinc per kilogram. Differences in weight gain between animals fed this diet and those fed the diet with 200
mg zinc per kilogram from added carbonate were reported when the dogs were being studied for 3 months. After 10 months, dogs fed the diet with the lower zinc
concentration only gained onethird as much weight as those fed the higher concentration. The zincdeficiency syndrome was initially characterized by skin lesions that
appeared on the abdomen and extremities, then by marked emaciation, emesis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, and general debility. On necropsy, there was gross evidence of
fatty change in the liver, the gallbladder was distended, and there was evidence of kidney damage with calcium deposits in the renal pelvis. Recently, Sanecki et al.
(1982) fed English Pointer pups a cornsoybased zincdeficient diet and reported observing within 5 weeks lesions of parakeratosis, mild hyperkeratosis, alterations
in germinal epithelium, erosions, ulcerations, vesiculation, alopecia, and inflammation of the skin. These lesions were reversible by adding 200 mg zinc carbonate per
kilogram to the diet, with complete remission of the external lesions in 6 weeks. These authors indicated that borderline zinc deficiencies could occur when less than 90
mg zinc per kilogram diet are included in highcalcium commercial dog foods made from natural ingredients.
Fisher (1977) fed more than 800 Beagles 32 mg/kg zinc of diet (calcium concentration not noted) and did not report any clinical signs of zinc deficiency. He reported
serum zinc values decreased in dogs with hepatic disorders, hysterectomies, hypothyroidism, and infections, while there was no change in the serum zinc values due to
renal disorders, castration, epilepsy, or enucleation.
Anderson and Danylchuk (1979) added 100 mg zinc oxide per kilogram of acidified drinking water and offered it to Beagles for 9 months. No pathological changes
were observed. There was, however, an increase in serum zinc concentration. Baxter et al. (1970) compared radiolabeled zinc uptake by subcellular fractions in
normal and infarcted myocardia in dogs. Increased radioactive zinc uptake in the infarctions suggested that zinc was mobilized for the tissue repair process.
Purified diets containing 78 percent moisture and 12 to 57 mg zinc per kilogram (asis diet) were fed to dogs by Romsos et al. (1976) without any apparent effect on
growth that could be related to zinc intake.
A concentration of 60 mg zinc per kilogram in dry naturalingredient diets appears to meet the maintenance requirements for dogs provided calcium concentrations are
not excessive. Excessive dietary calcium concentrations will decrease zinc availability, and various pathologically induced stresses will increase zinc requirements. Zinc
requirements for dogs maintained on highmeat or purified diets may be slightly lower. There is no comparable experimental evidence showing the extent to which
reproduction and growth influence the zinc requirements of dogs. However, optimal performance during gestation and lactation may be more readily attained when the
dietary zinc concentration is increased to near 90 mg/kg (Sanecki et al., 1982), particularly when natural ingredient diets that contain high levels of phytate and calcium
are involved. Based on studies with purified diets, it is estimated that the minimum zinc requirement for dogs is 9.7 mg/1,000 kcal ME. However, it is recognized that
there are numerous dietary constituents that can influence zinc availability, and so for practical diets including natural feed ingredients, zinc levels approaching those
suggested by Sanecki et al. (1982) or greater may be required.
Iodine
Marine and Lenhart (1909) showed that dogs require small amounts of dietary iodine for the prevention of goiter. Belshaw et al. (1975), using Beagle dogs 1 to 2
years of age and weighing 9 to 15 kg, estimated the minimum daily iodine requirement to be 140 µg per day. Serum T4 and T3 (triiodothyronine) levels were
unaffected by reducing iodine intake to 90 µg per day. When iodine intake was reduced to 20 to 50 µg per day serum T4 was markedly reduced, but T3 was
unaffected. Iodine
Page 21
deficiency of 8 to 12 months resulted in variable patterns in thyroid histology, which related to the rate of release of radioiodine from the thyroid.
Thyroidal iodine uptake is influenced by the age of puppies (Book, 1976) and by the level of iodine in the diet (Fritz et al., 1970). The full cycle of thyroid gland
accommodation to limited dietary iodine has been demonstrated in 11monthold purebred Beagles (Norris et al., 1970). The uptake and release of 131I by the thyroid
gland were measured periodically for 651 days while dogs were fed a semisynthetic diet that provided 50 to 75 µg of iodine per day. During the first 268 days of
restricted iodine intake, the thyroid glands became hyperplastic and hypertrophic. Hyperplasia and hypertrophy were correlated with a large increase in thyroidal
uptake of test doses of 131I and also with more rapid loss of 131I from the gland after the point of maximum uptake. After 368 days of restricted iodine intake, the
thyroid glands were involuted and had an essentially normal histological appearance. Thyroidal uptake of 131I remained high, but the subsequent rate of loss of 131I was
drastically reduced. This correlated with the return of thyroglobulin to the gland. The proposed adequate dietary iodine concentration for normal dogs is 0.16 mg/1,000
kcal ME.
Signs Of Deficiency
Goiter is the main sign of iodine deficiency. Cretinism in dogs has been reported in localities where goiter is endemic. Myxedema appears in the skin, and skeletal
deformities lead to a short, broad nose; coarse, heavy extremities, and a short body; and delayed shedding of deciduous teeth (Dammrich, 1963). Other signs of
deficiency are hairlessness, dullness, apathy, drowsiness, and timidity. Excessive amounts of iodine may be toxic to dogs (Webster et al., 1966).
Selenium
The relationships between vitamin E and selenium requirements of many domestic animal species are well documented (NRC, 1983). The dietary selenium
requirements of the dog, however, have not been studied in detail even though it has been reported (Fuller, 1971; Lannek and Lindberg, 1975; Van Vleet, 1980) that
vitamin E or selenium administration may have a pharmacologic effect in treating a number of diseases of dogs.
Van Vleet (1975) fed two Beagle puppies a purified, Torula yeastbased diet that was deficient in vitamin E and selenium. Clinical signs of deficiency observed after
the diet was consumed from 40 to 60 days included muscular weakness, subcutaneous edema, anorexia, depression, dyspnea, and eventual coma. Microscopic
examination of tissues from these dogs showed extensive skeletal muscular degeneration, necrosis in the myocardium, and renal mineralization. Similar lesions were
reported by Manktelow (1963) in dogs suspected to have selenium deficiency. Puppies fed the purified diet supplemented with 30 IU tocopherol per kilogram or
0.5 and 1.0 mg selenium per kilogram did not develop the clinical signs of deficiency (Van Vleet, 1975). At necropsy, mild skeletal myopathy was observed
histologically in the dogs consuming the 0.5 mg/kg selenium but not in those fed the tocopherol or the 1 mg/kg dietary selenium.
Based on these results, it would appear that a dietary concentration of 0.03 mg selenium per 1,000 kcal ME meets the requirements for dogs consuming a diet with
adequate vitamin E levels. A diet containing up to 0.5 mg/kg selenium may be appropriate if vitamin E concentrations are limited. On a practical basis, dogs consuming
dry commercial dog foods would not become seleniumdeficient because this mineral has a wide distribution in dog food ingredients (Allaway, 1973).
Fluorine
A minimum requirement for fluorine has not been established for dogs. Experimental evidence shows that more mineral is not deposited in the bones of Beagles when a
lowcalcium, highphosphorus diet is supplemented with fluorine (Krook, 1969; Henrikson et al., 1970; Krook et al., 1971).
Fluorine, fed as sodium fluoride at 0.45 to 4.5 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, comparable with the quantity found in some drinking water, caused mottling of
the tooth enamel during the period of calcification of permanent teeth in dogs (Biester et al., 1936).
Andreeva (1959) reported that the addition of fluorine at 20 mg per kilogram of body weight daily for 92 days to the diet of monthold pups altered serum calcium and
inorganic and organic phosphorus concentrations significantly. Fluoridechloride therapy has been reported to promote thicker trabeculae and callus formation
following fractures in dogs (DeGubareff and Platt, 1969). Feeding 200 or 250 ppm of fluorine in a diet deficient in magnesium prevented aortic calcification normally
found in magnesium deficiency (Bunce et al., 1962; Chiemchaisri and Phillips, 1963).
Elements Required at Trace Concentrations
A series of elements have been shown to be required by various animal species at concentrations in the microgramperkilogram range. An example is cobalt, which is
a component of the vitamin B12 molecule; it is not required when adequate amounts of this vitamin are
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provided. Other elements that may be required by dogs at trace concentrations include molybdenum, tin, silicon, nickel, vanadium, chromium, lead, and perhaps
arsenic.
The dietary requirements of the dog for these elements have not been established. These minerals seem to be widely distributed in the ingredients used to manufacture
natural ingredient dog diets, particularly at the low concentrations that appear to meet the requirements of other mammalian species. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that
dogs consuming natural ingredient diets would become deficient in any of these trace minerals. Their concentrations may be of concern when dogs are to consume
highly purified diets over relatively long periods.
Vitamins
Certain vitamins have been recognized as essential nutrients for dogs for more than 60 years. Despite this long history, precise quantitative requirements have not been
established for every vitamin. The recommendations made in Tables 1 and 2 are designed to provide levels that are reasonable based on research with dogs and other
species and that have proven satisfactory in practice. The concentrations of most nutrients in Table 2 can be determined from the daily requirements in Table 1 by
simple calculation, assuming that the 3kg growing puppy requires 600 kcal ME per day and that the 10kg adult dog requires 742 kcal ME for maintenance. Although
the vitamin requirements for gestation, lactation, and muscular effort have not been well defined, these needs are generally related to energy intake. As energy intake
increases in relation to the extra demands of milk production or exercise, daily intake of vitamins will also increase. The vitamin requirements in Table 2 should be
adequate to meet the needs of the entire life cycle of the dog. Since several vitamins are rather unstable, and their destruction may be promoted by light, heat,
oxidation, moisture, rancidity, or certain mineral elements, sufficient amounts should be provided to ensure that the recommended concentrations will be present when
the diet is consumed. Just as important is the realization that markedly excessive intake of vitamins A and D may be harmful to dogs.
Vitamin A
The earliest studies attempting to separate the functions of vitamins A and D on bone growth were carried out in dogs more than 60 years ago (see Mellanby, 1957).
The actual dietary requirement for vitamin A in dogs was investigated by Frohring (1935; 1937), who fed a vitamin Adeficient diet to Beagle puppies and calculated
that 100 IU vitamin A per kilogram of body weight was lost from the liver each day during growth (3 IU = 1 µg of retinol equivalents). The minimum curative dose of
vitamin A equivalents that effected a definite increase in weight was 200 IU (in the form of carotene) per kilogram of body weight per day. Crimm and Short (1937),
using a similar vitamin A depletion technique, estimated that the minimal daily vitamin A requirement of adult dogs was 22 to 47 IU per kilogram of body weight, or
between 8 and 16 µg/kg, which is the universal requirement among those species tested to date. Bradfield and Smith (1938) fed 200, 400, 1,000, or 2,000 IU vitamin
A per day per kilogram body weight to growing puppies and measured weight gain and liver vitamin A concentration. To compare the vitamin A activity of carotene
sources, other puppies received 200 IU vitamin A equivalents, as carotene in oil or from carrots, per kilogram of body weight per day. While increasing dietary intakes
of vitamin A resulted in increases in the vitamin A levels in the liver, 200 IU were adequate to produce maximum gains and slight liver vitamin A storage. In these
studies, cod liver oil and carotene appeared to be equally well utilized as sources of vitamin A activity, even though cod liver oil is not an ideal test substance because it
contains a variable amount of vitamin D that may interfere with vitamin A absorption if excessive. The data confirmed the earlier observation of Turner (1934) that
dietary carotene (from carrots) may be converted to vitamin A and stored in the liver of dogs.
There has never been published a careful assessment of the daily vitamin A requirement for dogs based on the liver storage of the vitamin while feeding an acceptable
form of vitamin A esters under controlled dietary circumstances. However, based on available information, the daily vitamin A requirement would be met by 75 IU per
kilogram of body weight for adult maintenance and 202 IU per kilogram of body weight for growing puppies. These amounts will be more than provided by a dietary
concentration (dry basis) of 3,336 IU per kilogram or 1,112 µg per kilogram of a diet containing approximately 3,300 kcal ME. This is equivalent to 1,011 IU/1,000
kcal ME.
Signs Of Deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency in the dog was among the first of the vitamin deficiencies to be studied experimentally. It is seldom encountered clinically. Steenbock et al. (1921)
reported that dogs deprived of fatsoluble vitamins developed an "ophthalmia." These and other workers (Stimson and Hedley, 1933; Crimm and Short, 1937;
Mellanby, 1938; Russell and Morris, 1939; Singh
Page 23
et al., 1965) have observed the following deficiency signs: anorexia, weight loss, ataxia, xerophthalmia, conjunctivitis, corneal opacity and ulceration, skin lesions,
metaplasia of the bronchiolar epithelium, pneumonitis, and increased susceptibility to infection with associated changes in the blood leukocyte differential count. Faulty
bone remodeling in the young dog resulting in overgrowth and stenosis of the neural foramina produced pressure degeneration of nerves and impaired nerve function.
Mellanby (1938) established that such damage to the cochlear and vestibular divisions of the eighth cranial nerve, plus a serious labyrinthitis, may induce deafness.
Similar damage may also affect function of the optic and trigeminal nerves, although this only has been observed after prolonged experimental deficiency.
Vitamin A supplements (10,000 IU per day) have been used successfully to treat specific lesions of disseminated focal hyperkeratosis in the dog (Ihrke and
Goldschmidt, 1983). The dogs were otherwise healthy and without evidence of vitamin A deficiency (vitamin A not measured), indicating that the condition is probably
an idiosyncrasy of individual dogs. This response to vitamin A is somewhat similar to that for certain cases of acne or ichthyosis in humans.
Hypervitaminosis A
Maddock et al. (1949), using 2monthold Greyhound puppies, orally administered 300,000 IU vitamin A per kilogram of body weight each day except Sunday.
Anorexia was first noted on the thirtieth day. Weight gains were 60 to 70 percent of controls for the first 53 days, but at this time weight declined precipitously. After
53 days a variety of clinical signs rapidly appeared. Hyperesthesia of the skin and extreme tenderness of the extremities were evident. The puppies were unwilling to
stand, although no fractures were noted. The long bone epiphyseal cartilage was markedly narrower; cortices of the femur, tibia, radius, and ulna were less dense and
thinner. Remodeling processes were greatly accelerated, and hemorrhage was common in these areas. Moderate exophthalmos was evident. Degenerative lesions of
the media were found in arteries and veins of the myocardium, gall bladder, and urinary bladder. Serum vitamin A levels reached 8,380 to 20,400 IU/dl, compared to
660 to 1,182 IU/dl in the controls. These values may be compared with those reported by Keane et al. (1947) in 21 healthy dogs examined at a New Jersey animal
hospital. The range of plasma vitamin A concentrations was 180 to 1,800 IU/dl, with a mean of 564 IU.
These observations were confirmed by Cho et al. (1975), who fed Labrador Retriever puppies a commercial diet while subjecting them to weekly injections of
100,000 IU/kg (roughly equivalent to 5,000 µg/kg/d). Only slight weight reduction was observed after 14 weeks. The puppies then received 300,000 IU/kg per day
(100,000 µg/kg/d) and experienced an immediate weight loss, lethargy, anorexia and emaciation, and limbjoint pain. After 14 more weeks, fatty liver was noted at
necropsy. Bone remodeling defects resulted in decreased bone length and thickness due to premature epiphyseal closure and resorption of diaphyseal bone in long
bones. No degenerative vascular lesions were evident, although microhemorrhages were observed. Spontaneous bone fractures did not occur, but microcalculi were
found in kidney tubules. Another group of puppies received a weekly injection of a vitamin ADE combination (supplying 200,000 IU vitamin A, 30,000 IU vitamin
D, and 20 IU vitamin E per week) without appreciable effect other than failure to gain weight during the last 7 weeks of the 14week study.
Wiersig and Swenson (1967) found that daily oral administration of 125,000 IU of vitamin A per kilogram of body weight to Beagle bitches on gestation days 17 to
22 produced cleft palate in the puppies.
Hendricks et al. (1947) found no adverse effects due to the continuous feeding of 10,000 IU vitamin A per kilogram of body weight to weaned Cocker Spaniel
puppies for 8 to 10 months.
Vitamin A has been used pharmacologically for certain diseases in dogs presumably receiving adequate dietary levels of this nutrient. Wakerlin et al. (1942) reported
marked reductions in blood pressure in dogs with experimental renal hypertension when given 200,000 IU daily per os for 3 months, followed by 400,000 IU daily for
an additional 3 months. In dogs with experimental atherosclerosis, Krause and Brown (1967) found that, while atherosclerotic dogs did not show impaired glucose
tolerance, oral daily supplements of 5,000 IU vitamin A increased the rate of glucose utilization. Martin (1971) found that corneal epithelial healing rate was not
improved by a single oral dose of 100,000 IU vitamin A plus 25,000 IU administered topically 4 times a day as compared to untreated controls, nor did vitamin A
counteract corticosteroid inhibition of epithelial healing.
Vitamin D
The dog has been utilized extensively for studies of vitamin D metabolism, and it was in this species that the separate effects of vitamin A and vitamin D on bone growth
and development were identified (see Mellanby, 1957). Since that initial discovery, the dog has been a widely used model in association with the influence of this
vitamin on calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Unfortunately, many vitamin D investigators have fed dogs a crude cerealbased formula that contains an incomplete
Page 24
vitamin mix, no salt mix, and an extremely low calcium level and a calcium: phosphorus ratio of 1:8 (Kelly, 1967). This diet raises serious questions concerning the
physiological relevance of the results and their interpretation in this species.
Vitamin D is now recognized as a hormone that can be synthesized from 7dehydrocholesterol when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. The product,
cholecalciferol, is in turn converted to an active metabolite in a twostep process in liver and kidney. The hepatocyte converts the cholecalciferol to 25OH
cholecalciferol which is transported to the kidney and converted to 1,25(OH)2D3 when the serum calciumregulated parathyroid hormone (PTH) level is elevated or
the kidney concentration of phosphate ion is low. It is thought that 1,25(OH)2D3 is the metabolite that most actively induces calcium absorption in the gut (Brickman et
al., 1973). The release of PTH from the parathyroid gland of the dog may be suppressed by the alternative kidney metabolite 24,25(OH)D3 (Canterbury et al., 1978),
while 1,25(OH)2D3 and 24,25(OH)2D3 appear to interact with PTH at the bone level to modulate calcium resorption and homeostasis (Massry et al., 1979).
Most vitamin D research has been done with cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), rather than ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), utilizing rats or chickens; but this research is
increasingly occurring in dogs. It appears that the abovementioned metabolic interconversions also occur in the dog (Midgett et al., 1973).
Requirements
Requirements for vitamin D are dependent on dietary concentrations of calcium: and phosphorus, the dietary calcium: phosphorus ratio, physiological stage of
development, and perhaps sex and breed. Kozelka et al. (1933) found that Collie puppies were protected from rickets by 1 to 1.3 IU vitamin D (irradiated ergosterol)
per kilogram of body weight per day. Arnold and Elvehjem (1939) found calcification to be normal in a growing Airedale puppy receiving 13 IU or less of vitamin D
per kilogram of body weight per day. Further studies with Great Dane puppies receiving a 1.39 percent calcium and 1.05 percent phosphorus (Ca/P = 1.32:1) diet
and 12 IU or less of vitamin D per kilogram of body weight per day showed that growth and bone mineralization were normal. When partGreat Dane puppies were
fed diets with a calcium:phosphorus ratio of either 1.2:1 or 2.0:1, providing 12 IU or less of vitamin D per kilogram of body weight per day, the puppy receiving a
calcium:phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1 was normal throughout the 125day trial; the puppy receiving a calcium:phosphorus ratio of 2.0:1 became severely rachitic.
Fleischmann Laboratories (1944) reported that 28 IU vitamin D per kilogram of body weight daily was sufficient for Fox Terriers when using a dietary
calcium:phosphorus ratio of 2.1:1. However, even with 270 IU per kilogram of body weight per day, Collies and Great Danes showed Xray evidence of rickets.
Michaud and Elvehjem (1944) concluded that, with a dietary calcium:phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1, daily intakes of 10 to 20 IU vitamin D per kilogram of body weight
were adequate, even for large breeds.
Wheatley and Sher (1961), in an analysis of the lipids of dog skin, were unable to isolate 7dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D) despite the empirical observation in
dogs (McCay, 1949) that sunlight exposure minimized problems with rickets. The latter implied the probable conversion of the vitamin D precursor upon exposure to
ultraviolet light. Arnold and Elvehjem (1939) have concluded that dogs use orally administered ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) or cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) equally well.
When the dietary calcium:phosphorus ratio is 1.2:1, daily vitamin D requirements should be met by 8 IU (0.20 µg) per kilogram of body weight for adult maintenance
and 22 IU per kilogram of body weight for growing puppies. These amounts will be more than provided by a concentration (dry basis) of 363 IU per kilogram of a
food supplying 3,300 kcal ME. Since 40 IU equals 1 µg of vitamin D, this would be equivalent to 9 µg of vitamin D per kilogram of diet (dry weight), or 110 IU/1,000
kcal ME.
Signs Of Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency signs are frequently confounded by a simultaneous deficiency or imbalance of calcium and phosphorus. Campbell and Douglas (1965) fed a 0.5
percent calcium and 0.3 percent phosphorus diet, with no supplemental vitamin D, to puppies for 15 weeks without signs of rickets or osteoporosis. Likewise, plasma
calcium and inorganic phosphorus concentrations, plasma alkaline phosphatase activity, and calcium and phosphorus retention were normal. When the diet contained
0.08 to 0.10 percent calcium and 0.13 to 0.15 percent phosphorus and no supplemental vitamin D, rickets complicated by osteoporosis was observed. When this diet
plus a daily supplement of 100 IU vitamin D per kilogram of body weight was supplied, osteoporosis was evident, but rachitic changes were only very slight. A
frequently used model of vitamin D deficiency in dogs utilizes the crude cerealbased formula mentioned earlier, which provides only 0.05 percent calcium and 0.42
percent phosphorus. This diet required at least 3 months to depress the serum calcium approximately 2 mg/dl while lowering the serum 25(OH)D3 level to ‹0.4 ng/ml
(30 to 60 ng/ml is the normal human value) (Oldham et al., 1980).
Page 25
Hypervitaminosis D
Morgan and Shimotori (1943) administered a single oral dose of 20,000 IU vitamin D (from tuna liver oil, irradiated ergosterol, or activated animal sterol) per kilogram
of body weight to three Cocker Spaniel puppies that had been depleted of vitamin D for 2 months after weaning. They were observed until they were 12 to 14 months
old. No deleterious effects on growth, appetite, or general behavior were noted. A transient hypercalcemia was apparent in the first postdosing blood sample taken at
4 hours. Vitamin D was measurable in the blood for 3 days to 5 months postdosing. At 12 to 14 months of age, these dogs were given a second oral dose of 200,000
IU vitamin D (irradiated ergosterol or animal sterol) per kilogram of body weight. Vomiting and diarrhea were observed within 3 days, along with lassitude, weakness,
rapid respiration, excessive lacrimation, and anorexia. Serum calcium concentrations first declined and then rose, together with inorganic phosphorus levels, within the
first 12 hours. After 3 days the dogs were killed, and tissue vitamin D concentrations were 1.6 to 5.0 IU per gram of fresh tissue in the liver, 3.0 to 8.0 IU per gram in
the kidney, and 3.0 to 5.0 IU per gram in the heart.
Morgan et al. (1947) administered a single oral dose of 314,000 to 530,000 IU vitamin D as irradiated ergosterol per kilogram of body weight to 4 to 5weekold
puppies. All exhibited anorexia, polyuria, bloody diarrhea, polydipsia, and prostration. Three were dead within 2 weeks and a fourth was moribund in 5 weeks.
Extensive calcification was found in the lungs of these dogs, and moderate calcification in the hearts and kidneys. In the dogs that survived, malocclusion, pitting,
irregular placement, and poor development of the teeth were seen.
Hendricks et al. (1947) fed 10,000 IU vitamin D daily per kilogram of body weight to weaned Cocker Spaniel puppies. Irradiated ergosterol, irradiated animal sterol,
or tuna liver oil served as the source. Treatment was continued for 8 to 10 months. Anorexia developed, growth was retarded, serum calcium was variably increased,
jaws and teeth were deformed, and soft tissues were calcified—particularly the lungs, kidneys, and stomach.
Vitamin D toxicity in the dog is generally associated with a hypercalcemia in excess of 12.5 mg/dl calcium. Caywood et al. (1979) demonstrated that this level could be
achieved with a chronic oral dose of 60 to 120 ng/kg of 1,25(OH)2D3 administered over a 4week period. A level of 180 ng/kg daily induced hypercalcemia in as little
as 2 weeks. However, it was recommended that a dose of 100 ng/kg be administered for a month for treatment of boneloss hypocalcemia.
Spangler et al. (1979) investigated the pathogenesis of vitamin D nephropathy in mixedbreed dogs given 20,000 to 40,000 IU per kilogram vitamin D2 orally each day
for 1 to 3 weeks. Serum calcium rose from approximately 10 to 15 mg/dl, and serum urea nitrogen rose significantly. Serum phosphorus was unchanged, while renin
activity increased. Changes in blood pressure were minor, even though vitamin D intoxication usually produces hypertension in the dog. Kidney pathology suggested
that renal vascular damage caused ischemia and concomitant hyperplasia, hypertrophy, and hypersecretion of the juxtaglomerular cells. Clinically, the dogs decreased
food consumption after 8 days, and by 2 weeks they had lost condition and were dehydrated, with dry, brittle hair and muscle atrophy. The clinical signs were similar
to those reported following oral consumption of a smaller dose (200 to 375 µg/kg per day) to dogs for a longer period of 3 to 11 weeks (Mulligan and Strickler,
1948). In the latter experiment metastatic calcification was observed in the lung, Henle's loops in the kidney, and the gastric mucosa.
Vitamin E
While the need for vitamin E in dog diets was demonstrated by Anderson et al. (1939), the interrelationship with dietary selenium concentrations has only recently been
studied (Van Vleet, 1975). Since selenium was identified as an essential nutrient in 1957 (Schwarz and Foltz, 1957), few of the vitamin E studies with dogs have taken
this factor into account. Both nutrients are important in protecting cell membranes against peroxidation and the destructive effects of free radicals.
Vitamin E serves to quench free radicals in the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of membrane phospholipids; and seleniumcontaining glutathione peroxidase
reduces peroxides, particularly those that form in the cytosol and in the mitochondrial matrix, thereby protecting the membrane PUFA from additional insult (Tappel,
1980).
Requirements
Since the PUFA content of membranes can be altered by dietary fats, it is not surprising that the dietary requirement for vitamin E is closely related to the dietary
concentration of PUFA. When a large amount of polyunsaturated fat is fed after it has been stripped of tocopherols, as much as 100 mg tocopherol per kilogram of
diet may be insufficient to protect against lipofuscin formation (Hayes et al., 1969).
Harris and Embree (1963) have proposed a dietary tocopherol: PUFA ratio (mg/g) of 0.6:1 as a minimum to protect against PUFA peroxidation. It is noteworthy
Page 26
that human diets in the United States have an average tocopherol:PUFA ratio of 0.43:1, without evidence of vitamin E deficiency (Bieri and Evarts, 1973).
Elvehjem et al. (1944) reported that 0.62 mg (0.68 IU) tocopherol per kilogram of body weight per day would not sustain normal reproduction in Fox Terriers fed
unsweetened, irradiated evaporated milk, while 1 mg (1.1 IU) would. However, one pup out of four from a bitch receiving the higher level of vitamin E exhibited slight
muscular dystrophy.
Van Vleet (1975) fed Beagle puppies a diet containing 5 percent stripped lard and Torula yeast and varying levels of vitamin E or selenium. Signs of deficiency were
observed when a basal diet containing 0.01 ppm selenium and 1 mg/kg tocopherol was fed. Feeding tocopherol at 30 IU per kilogram of diet alone or 1 ppm
selenium alone as selenite prevented deficiency both clinically and histopathologically, whereas 0.5 ppm selenium only prevented clinical signs of deficiency.
From these data, and assuming that one feeds a dry diet containing not more than 1 percent linoleic acid and at least 0.1 ppm selenium, the recommended allowance
(including that for reproduction and growth) should be satisfied by 20 IU vitamin E per kilogram of a diet supplying 3,300 kcal ME. This is equivalent to 6.1 IU/1,000
kcal ME. The data suggest that approximately 1.1 IU per kilogram of body weight should be allowed daily for pregnancy and 1.2 IU per kilogram of body weight for
growth. If dietary PUFA levels are increased, it is suggested that an tocopherol:PUFA ratio (mg/g) of at least 0.5 be maintained. Rancid fats should be avoided
because of their particular destructiveness to tocopherols.
Signs Of Deficiency
A number of authors (Anderson et al., 1939, 1940; Brinkhous and Warner, 1941; Elvehjem et al., 1944; Cordes and Mosher, 1966; Van Kruiningen, 1967; Hayes et
al., 1969, 1970; Hayes and Rousseau, 1970; Riis et al., 1981) have published signs of presumed vitamin E deficiency. Particularly prominent were degeneration of
skeletal muscle associated with muscle weakness, degeneration of testicular germinal epithelium and failure of spermatogenesis, failure of gestation, weak and dead
pups, brown pigmentation (lipofuscinosis) of intestinal smooth muscle, decreased plasma tocopherol concentrations, increased dialuric acid hemolysis of erythrocytes,
and elevated plasma creatine phosphokinase values. A remarkable retinal degeneration was described by Hayes et al. (1970) and reproduced experimentally (Riis et
al., 1981) in puppies fed a diet containing stripped corn oil. In as few as three months ophthalmascopic lesions were visible, which represented lipid peroxidation and
disruption of photoreceptors with accumulation of lipofuscin pigment.
Vitamin E deficiency in dogs also appears to impair their immune response as measured by the mitogenic response of lymphocytes (Langweiler et al., 1981). The
impairment is attributable to a suppressor factor in the serum, since washed cells become responsive and serum alone from deficient dogs is able to depress the
response in control lymphocytes.
A combined vitamin Eselenium deficiency described by Van Vleet (1975) included muscle weakness, subcutaneous edema, anorexia, depression, dyspnea, and
coma. Pathologic examination revealed extensive skeletal muscle degeneration and regeneration, focal subendocardial necrosis, lipofuscinosis, and renal mineralization.
Vitamin E is not generally thought to be toxic; however, it has been observed that although vitamin E did not interfere with coagulation in normal dogs, it was able to
block oxidation of vitamin K to the epoxide form in Warfarintreated dogs and thereby exacerbate the coagulopathy (Corrigan, 1979).
Vitamin K
Requirements
The metabolic need for vitamin K has been well established in the dog. Anderson and Barnhart (1964) have shown that vitamin K1 (2methyl3phytyl1,4naphtho
quinone) stimulates prothrombin synthesis by the liver parenchymal cells in dogs made hypoprothrombinemic by coumarin compounds. Duello and Matschiner
(1971a,b) isolated 19 vitamin K analogs in dog liver and suggested that most were absorbed from the intestine and were not tissue metabolites. A bacterial origin for
many of these vitamins was considered likely.
The need for supplemental vitamin K has been demonstrated in adult dogs following diversion of bile from the intestine by means of a cholecystonephrostomy (Quick
et al., 1954). Vitamin K absorption from both diet and intestinal bacterial synthesis was apparently reduced, and 0.5 µg vitamin K1 per kg of body weight injected
intravenously each day sustained normal plasma prothrombin levels. Using the same surgical technique with puppies, Quick et al. (1962) concluded that daily
intravenous injections of 10 to 15 µg vitamin K1 per kilogram of body weight were necessary to sustain normal plasma prothrombin levels during active growth, with a
decline in requirement to 5 µg or less per kilogram of body weight as the dogs approached mature weight. Robinson et al. (1964) studied whether or not
cholestyramine, a bile acidbinding resin, would interfere with vitamin K1 absorption.
Page 27
In the dose range used in humans for control of hypercholesterolemia (200 mg per kilogram of body weight), there was no measurable effect on vitamin K1 absorption.
At larger doses (1 to 3 g per kilogram of body weight), vitamin K1 absorption was decreased and delayed somewhat.
Clark and Halliwell (1963) administered 2.2 mg Warfarin, 3( acetonylbenzyl)4hydroxycoumarin, per kilogram of body weight to adult Greyhounds daily for 3
days. This decreased the prothrombin time to 10 percent of normal. Subsequent daily intravenous administration of vitamin K1 at levels of 0.28 to 4.4 mg per kilogram
of body weight returned prothrombin time to 70 percent of normal in 2 to 4 days, although the higher dosages produced a more rapid response. One oral dose of 2.2
mg vitamin K1 per kilogram of body weight returned prothrombin time to 70 percent of normal in 8 hours, but this value declined to 40 percent at 24 hours.
Intramuscular dosage of vitamin K1 produced a slower, but more sustained, response. Menadione (menaquinone, or 2methyl1,4naphthoquinone) and 2methyl1,4
naphthohydroquinone diphosphate administration did not produce a prothrombin response.
Whether dietary vitamin K is likely to be limiting in the absence of compounds that interfere with bacterial vitamin K synthesis, vitamin K absorption, or function is not
clearly established. Bratt et al. (1965) reported a suspected vitamin K deficiency in newborn pups that occasionally responded to vitamin K therapy. There were no
controls. Reber and Malhotra (1961) fed a diet calculated to contain 60 µg vitamin K per kilogram of solids to adult male Beagles for 40 weeks. No evidence of
vitamin K deficiency was seen in the dogs or in adult cats fed the same diet, but 75 percent of weanling SpragueDawley rats fed this diet died from hemorrhage.
Although it is doubtful that supplemental vitamin K is necessary for the normal dog, it may be prudent to provide 22 µg menadione (or vitamin K equivalent) per
kilogram of body weight daily for adult maintenance and 44 µg per kilogram of body weight during growth. This would be more than supplied by a dry diet
concentration of 1.0 mg menadione per kilogram.
Signs Of Deficiency
A simple vitamin K deficiency has not been described in the dog. When vitamin K absorption is reduced by cholecystonephrostomy (Quick et al., 1962), dogs
become hypoprothrombinemic and exhibit massive hemorrhage. Similar signs appear subsequent to coumarin administration (Clark and Halliwell, 1963). Coumarins
also induce liver parenchymal cell ultrastructural changes (Barnhart et al., 1964), such as collapse of membranous elements of the endoplasmic reticulum around the
mitochondria and reduced cytoplasmic ribosome concentration.
Hypervitaminosis K
Vitamin K1 is apparently safer in large quantities than the watersoluble analogs and derivatives of menadione (vitamin K3). The latter are widely employed, but they
may produce toxic side effects in the newborn when administered parenterally. Doses up to 10 to 25 mg of vitamin K have been administered to pregnant women
prior to and during delivery, or to the newborn infant, to prevent hypoprothrombinemia and hemorrhagic disease in the child. When vitamin K1 was used, this practice
was apparently not harmful; however, 5 to 10 mg of menadiol sodium diphosphate administered daily to infants produced hemolytic anemia, and 10 mg given 3 times a
day for 3 days to premature infants resulted in kernicterus and death. The mechanism of toxicity involves erythrocyte hemolysis and subsequent overloading of an
immature liver with bilirubin, which cannot be sufficiently conjugated and which in turn proves toxic to the neonatal brain (kernicterus) (Miller and Hayes, 1982).
The only reported case of toxicity in the dog occurred in a 1yearold female Great Dane that ingested a packet of Warfarin and was treated intravenously with 30 mg
of vitamin K1 in 5 percent dextrose and lactated Ringer's solution. An acute urticaria was observed with wheals first appearing on the face before progressing caudally
over the entire trunk. Flatulence, lacrimation, and salivation were also noted (Jordan, 1979).
Thiamin
Requirements
Arnold and Elvehjem (1939) demonstrated that a diet containing 2 percent fat and 500 µg thiamin chloride per kilogram was inadequate to maintain food intake and
growth of puppies. They estimated the thiamin requirement for growth was at least 750 µg thiamin chloride per kilogram of diet and demonstrated a lower requirement
for two dogs given either a 22.5 or a 56.5 percent fat diet. On a body weight basis, their estimated requirement for growth was about 40 µg thiamin per kilogram of
body weight per day.
Noel et al. (1971) fed 24 growing Beagle dogs a semipurified diet fortified with B vitamins other than thiamin. The dogs were divided into four groups and given the
following quantities of thiamin per kilogram of body weight daily: group 1: 110 µg; group 2: 33 µg; and group
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3: 22 µg; the fourth group was given 115 µg twice a week. All dogs except for those in groups 1 and 4 were maintained on this protocol for 29 weeks. For the latter
two groups, the supplemental thiamin was reduced for the last 8 weeks to 11 µg per kilogram of body weight daily and 77 µg per kilogram of body weight twice
weekly, respectively. No clinical abnormalities were detected in the dogs except for one bitch in group 3, which began to lose weight after 9 weeks of receiving 22 µg
thiamin per kilogram of body weight per day, and died at 22 weeks. This dog exhibited transitory diarrhea at week 19, and the terminal signs were a sudden loss of
appetite and body weight, accompanied by weakness. The transketolase activity of the erythrocytes of this dog were stimulated markedly by thiamin pyrophosphate,
indicating gross thiamin deficiency (Brin and Vincent, 1965). No other dogs showed changes in transketolase activity. These authors concluded that 22 µg thiamin per
kilogram of body weight per day was too low to support Beagles in a satisfactory state of health during the first year of life.
Cowgill (1934) reported that a daily intake of 6 µg thiamin per kilogram of body weight was sufficient for maintenance of mature dogs. Slightly higher values were
suggested by Street et al. (1941), who reported that adult dogs could be maintained in apparent good health for 129 to 386 days on a 25 percent fat diet when
supplied daily with 6.7 to 9.4 µg thiamin per kilogram of body weight. They suggested an allowance of approximately 8 µg thiamin per kilogram of body weight for
maintenance of dogs of 6 to 10 kg. Maass et al. (1944) found that less than 10 µg per kilogram of body weight per day was inadequate for weight maintenance of
adult dogs and that the thiamin requirement of adult and growing dogs did not appear to be increased by phlebotomy. These workers were the first to use a
semipurified diet fortified with crystalline riboflavin, pyridoxine, calcium pantothenate, niacin, and choline chloride to investigate thiamin requirements. Previous workers
such as Arnold and Elvehjem (1939) and Street et al. (1941) had relied on autoclaved yeast to supply B vitamins other than thiamin.
Thiamin requirements are influenced by both physiological and dietary factors. Experimental hyperthyroidism has been shown (Drill 1941; Drill and Hays, 1942; Drill
and Shaffer, 1942) to increase thiamin requirements of the dog on a body weight basis. There is limited evidence from the dog and other mammals that thiamin
requirements per kilogram of diet are greater for pregnancy and lactation than for growth (e.g., Voegtlin and Lake, 1919).
The level of fat and protein in the diet and the inclusion of penicillin, lactose, sorbitol, and ascorbic acid are reported to be inversely related to thiamin requirement in
other species (Evans and Lepkovsky, 1929 a, b, 1935; Scott and Griffith, 1957; Haenel et al., 1959). However, a subsequent study with rats did not support the
effect of fat (Murdock et al., 1974). Thiamin requirements of the cat were reported by Deady et al. (1981) to be increased by feeding a diet high in glutamic acid (an
amino acid present in high concentrations in some vegetable proteins). Factors favoring intestinal microbial synthesis of thiamin, e.g., by diets containing starch rather
than sucrose, and practice of coprophagy can markedly influence dietary requirements for this vitamin.
Natural feeds may contain compounds with antithiamin activity that increase dietary needs. Thiaminases are present in animal tissues, notably in some freshwater and
saltwater fish, shellfish, and crustaceans; some plants, e.g., ferns; and some bacteria and fungi. In general, these thiaminases are heatlabile, so are inactivated by
cooking. Some plants contain small thermostable molecules (e.g., odihydroxyphenols such as caffeic acid and catechol) which react with thiamin and prevent its giving
the thiochrome reaction (Davis and Somogyi, 1969). Evans (1975) suggests that the main product formed from the reaction of these thermostable ''antithiamin" factors
is thiamin disulfide, which is biologically inactive. Further, he suggests that thermostable antithiamin factors appear to have little nutritional significance to animals.
Thiamin is readily destroyed by heat, especially under basic conditions. Losses of 74 percent of thiamin have been reported for some canned dog foods due to
retorting and storage for 14 days (Roche, 1981). Naturally occurring clinical cases of thiamin deficiency in dogs attributed to thermal destruction of thiamin in meat
have been reported (Read et al., 1977). Therefore, intake of thiamin should be calculated from analyses of diets taken at the time of consumption.
The thiamin requirements of the normal adult dog for maintenance can be met by 20 µg per kilogram of body weight daily, and the growing dog by 40 µg per kilogram
of body weight. There do not appear to be any published data to permit definition of a requirement for pregnancy or lactation. All evidence suggests that 270 µg
thiamin/1,000 kcal ME is adequate for maintenance and growth.
Signs Of Deficiency And Pathology
Because of the body's limited capacity to store thiamin, clinical signs may be observed after a relatively short period of ingestion of a thiamindeficient diet. Anorexia
has been consistently observed as an early clinical sign of thiamin deficiency. Read and Harrington (1981)
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fed 2 to 5monthold Beagle dogs a thiamindeficient diet (20 to 30 µg thiamin per kilogram of diet) and described three clinical stages of the disease: an initial short
(18 ± 8 days) stage of induction, during which the dogs grew suboptimally, but were otherwise healthy; an intermediate stage characterized by a variable period (59 ±
37 days) of progressive inappetence, failure to grow, loss of body weight, and coprophagy; and a terminal period that in most dogs was abrupt and short (8 ± 6 days)
and consisted of either a neurological syndrome or sudden unexpected death. The neurological syndrome was characterized by anorexia, emesis, central nervous
system depression, paraparesis, sensory ataxia, torticollis, circling, tonicclonic convulsions, profound muscular weakness, and recumbency.
Erythrocyte transketolase activity was depressed in deficient dogs. In vitro addition of thiamin pyrophosphate to red cells from deficient dogs gave a stimulation of
transketolase activity above the normal of 11 ± 4 percent (Brin and Vincent, 1965; Noel et al., 1971; Read, 1979). Pathological changes due to thiamin deficiency
predominately involve the nervous system and heart. The pattern of changes depends on the period of induction; acute deficiencies tend to involve the brain and
produce severe neurological signs, whereas chronic deficiencies produce pathological changes of the myocardium and peripheral nerves (Read, 1979). Brain lesions
include symmetrical necrosis of the gray matter of the inferior colliculi, medial vestibular nuclei, cerebellar nodulus, claustra and cerebral cortex (Read et al., 1977;
Read, 1979).
Histologically, the peripheral neuropathy reported by Cowgill (1921) and subsequent workers is characterized by diffuse bilateral myelin degeneration and axonal
disintegration (Voegtlin and Lake, 1919; Street et al., 1941; Read, 1979).
In contrast to thiamin deficiency in humans, cardiac hypertrophy is not a constant lesion in dogs. Andrews (1912) described hypertrophy of the right heart in one of
seven puppies suckled by mothers whose babies had died from beriberi. Voegtlin and Lake (1919) and Street et al. (1941) also reported several cases of enlargement
of the heart. Read (1979) described the cardiac lesion as nonspecific multifocal myocardial necrosis, and suggested primary vascular damage may be involved.
The in vitro measurement of erythrocyte transketolase stimulation by thiamin pyrophosphate (Brin and Vincent, 1956; Noel et al., 1971; Read, 1979) has been used to
diagnose thiamin deficiency in the dog. However, a decrease in the concentration of thiamin pyrophosphate in the blood of rats has been shown to precede changes in
transketolase activity (Warnock et al., 1978) and may be a superior test for the dog.
Hypervitaminosis Thiamin
Rapid intravenous injection of 5 to 50 mg thiamin per kilogram of body weight causes a transient fall in blood pressure, with more severe effects from higher dosages.
The lethal dose is approximately 350 mg per kilogram of body weight (Neal and Sauberlich, 1980), and death is due to depression of the respiratory center. Under
ether anesthesia, blood thiamin concentrations of 7 to 10 mg/ml were fatal. The ratios of lethal intravenous doses to those administered subcutaneously or orally were
estimated to be 1:6:40 (Unna, 1954).
Riboflavin
Microbial biosynthesis of riboflavin and other alloxazines has been shown to occur in the gastrointestinal tract of a number of animal species. However, utilization of this
endogenously synthesized riboflavin varies from species to species. Within a single species, utilization depends on the composition of the diet (Christensen, 1973) and
incidence of coprophagy. Young rats fed a riboflavinfree, purified diet with sucrose as the only carbohydrate will cease to grow. However, when sucrose is replaced
by starch, sorbitol, or lactose, growth is comparable to that of rats supplied with riboflavin (Fridericia et al., 1927; Haenel et al., 1959). Excretion of riboflavin in urine
and feces is also dependent on the carbohydrate in the diet and is suppressed by inclusion of sulfa drugs in the diet (De and Roy, 1951). The contribution of
symbiotically synthesized riboflavin to the dog's requirement is not known.
Street and Cowgill (1939) fed adult dogs a basal diet containing 30 percent casein, 36 percent sucrose, and 27 percent fat and an extract of rice polishings to supply B
vitamins other than riboflavin. Another group of dogs was pairfed the same diet, plus rice polishing extract and 25 µg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight. Those
dogs pairfed the supplemented diet lost body weight, because of food restriction, but remained healthy for 130 to 196 days. Dogs fed the unsupplemented diet
collapsed after 120 ± 18 days of consuming the basal diet and generally responded to treatment with 0.75 mg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight. Street et al.
(1941) confirmed, using the same caseinsucrosefat diet as that used in their 1939 study, that 4 to 8 µg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight daily was inadequate
for adult dogs, but 25 µg per kilogram of body weight maintained dogs without clinical signs of deficiency.
Estimates of the minimal riboflavin requirement of the growing dog were made by Axelrod et al. (1940). When riboflavin was supplemented once weekly, 2 mg per
kilogram of diet was inadequate, but 4 mg per kilogram
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of diet was sufficient. In a later study (Axelrod et al., 1941) they reported a minimal requirement of 2 mg per kilogram of diet, but tissue storage was low, which
suggested that 4 mg per kilogram of diet was a satisfactory level. Potter et al. (1942) reported that 60 to 100 µg per kilogram of body weight appeared to give
comparable growth rates but marked differences in tissue storage. These authors also calculated that the dietary riboflavin requirement of the growing dog was more
than 2 mg per kilogram of diet. They further showed that isocaloric substitution of lard for sucrose in the diet did not increase riboflavin requirements of the growing
dog.
Spector et al. (1943) subjected both young and adult dogs given variable riboflavin intakes to repeated phlebotomy. They suggested that 30 µg riboflavin per kilogram
of body weight per day is necessary for growing dogs for good hemoglobin production and rapid recovery from anemia and that 15 µg riboflavin per kilogram of body
weight per day is required by adult dogs. Heywood and Partington (1971), however, reported corneal lesions in dogs 4.5 to 5 months of age given diets containing
various levels of riboflavin for 17 weeks. Without riboflavin supplementation corneal edema was seen in the fifth week, which developed to superficial vascularization
at the eleventh week. Bilateral corneal opacities were also observed in one of four dogs receiving 30 µg riboflavin/kg/d. Two out of three male dogs receiving 55
µg/kg/d developed bilateral corneal lesions. Noel et al. (1972) reported corneal opacities without vascularization in two growing male Beagles receiving a diet
providing 39 to 60 µg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight.
It is concluded that a daily intake of 50 µg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight for adult dogs and 100 µg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight for growing puppies
will provide adequate levels of the vitamin for reasonable tissue storage. No data derived from dogs are available to give a dietary requirement for gestation and
lactation. This translates to 0.68 mg riboflavin per 1,000 kcal of dietary ME.
Signs Of Deficiency
Acute riboflavin deficiency may result in anorexia, hypothermia, a decreased respiratory rate, apathy, progressive weakness, ataxia, sudden collapse to a
semicomatose condition, and death (Street and Cowgill, 1939). Chronic hyporiboflavinosis has been associated with anorexia; loss of body weight; muscular
weakness, particularly of the hind quarters; dry, flaky dermatitis, accompanied by erythema of the hind legs, chest, and abdomen; and ocular lesions. The ocular lesions
are generally bilateral, and progress from a watery or purulent discharge accompanied by conjunctivitis to opacity and vascularization of the cornea (Street et al.,
1941; Potter et al., 1942; Heywood and Partington, 1971; Noel et al., 1972).
Hyporiboflavinosis is accompanied by a reduction in erythrocyte riboflavin concentration, a reduced urinary excretion of riboflavin, and a low urinary recovery of a
riboflavin test load (Axelrod et al., 1941; Potter et al., 1942; Noel et al., 1972). The anemias and fatty livers that early workers associated with hyporiboflavinosis
were probably induced by the diet's lacking other essential factors, e.g., choline, folic acid, or vitamin B12, required for normal hematopoiesis and lipid transport (Noel
et al., 1972).
Erythrocyte glutathione reductase assay is currently the preferred test for diagnosis of riboflavin deficiency in humans. Factors affecting the assay are described by
Thurnham and Rathkette (1982).
Hypervitaminosis Riboflavin
Riboflavin has a low toxicity, which may be a result of its low solubility. Dogs given a single oral dose of 2 g riboflavin per kilogram of body weight showed no ill
effects (Unna and Greslin, 1942). Similarly, four 10weekold puppies were fed 25 mg riboflavin per kilogram of body weight for 5 months, and neither toxic signs
were observed, nor pathological changes in the organs at necropsy.
Pantothenic Acid
McKibben et al. (1939, 1940), Morgan and Simms (1940), and Fouts et al. (1940) demonstrated the necessity of pantothenic acid in the diet of the dog. Schaefer et
al. (1942) fed weanling puppies and adult dogs a diet of 66 percent sucrose, 19 percent casein, 11 percent fats and oils, minerals and equal amounts of thiamin,
riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, and choline, and varying levels of calcium pantothenate. These authors concluded that 100 µg calcium pantothenate per kilogram of body
weight per day was adequate to prevent deficiency signs in growing puppies, but 60 µg per kilogram of body weight was insufficient. Adult dogs required less calcium
pantothenate per unit of body weight than growing dogs.
Sheffy (1964) depleted Beagle puppies 4 to 5 weeks of age of pantothenate by feeding a purified diet not supplemented with pantothenate for variable periods of time.
Supplements of calcium pantothenate approximating 0, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 µg per kilogram of body weight per day were given. Coincidental with the
initiation of supplementation, a single inoculation of
Page 31
a virus was given, and change in body weight and antibody response were measured. Puppies receiving the 0or 50µg levels of calcium pantothenate died. No
significant difference in growth rate occurred between those receiving 200, 500, and 1,000 µg/kg body weight. Dogs receiving either 500 or 1,000 µg/kg had higher
antibody responses at 7 days, but not at 21 days following vaccination, than those receiving 200 µg/kg. As the antigen was given on the first day of supplementation, it
is not clear whether a longer period of repletion would have given different results. Sheffy concluded that the daily requirement for growth was between 100 and 200
µg per kilogram of body weight.
Free pantothenate appears to be efficiently absorbed by the dog, as Taylor et al. (1974) found that between 81 and 94 percent of an oral dose of sodium (14C)
pantothenate was absorbed. Urinary secretion represents the major route of loss from the body, principally as the glucuronide (Taylor et al. 1972). The kidney of
the dog is distinct from that of other animals in that it excretes little of the free vitamin, but the excretion of the glucuronide approaches the glomerular filtration rate.
From the limited data available on dogs and the requirements of other species, it would appear prudent to provide 200 µg pantothenic acid per kilogram of body
weight for adult maintenance and 400 µg per kilogram of body weight for growth of dogs as suggested by NRC (1974). No data are available to give estimates for
reproduction and lactation. A dietary concentration of 2.6 mg/1,000 kcal ME is considered adequate.
Signs Of Deficiency
Pantothenic aciddeficient dogs exhibit erratic appetites, depressed rates of growth, reduced urinary excretion of the vitamin (Silber, 1944), lowered antibody
response (Sheffy, 1964), and reduced blood concentrations of cholesterol, cholesterol esters, and total lipids (Scudi and Hamlin, 1942). Deficient dogs have reduced
concentrations of pantothenate in blood, liver, muscle, and brain (Silber, 1944). In the terminal stages of pantothenic acid deficiency, dogs exhibit spasticity of the hind
quarters, sudden prostration or coma, usually accompanied by rapid respiratory and cardial rates and possibly convulsions.
Hypervitaminosis Pantothenic Acid
Large amounts (10 to 20 g) of calcium pantothenate have been administered to humans without evidence of toxicity other than occasional diarrhea (Gershberg et al.,
1949).
Niacin (Nicotinic Acid, Nicotinamide)
Historically the dog played an important role as a model for the study of pellagra in humans and in testing antipellagra vitamin preparations (Harvey et al., 1938). In a
text on nutrition of humans, Chittenden (1907) described clinical signs of disturbances of the gastrointestinal tract with bloody discharge and inflammation of the
mucous membrances of the mouth in a dog given a diet of bread and lard. Goldberger and Wheeler (1928) recognized the similarity between these signs of the disease
known as "black tongue" in dogs and those of pellagra in humans (Goldberger and Wheeler, 1920). Elvehjem et al. (1937, 1938) demonstrated that nicotinic acid and
nicotinamide were equally effective in curing black tongue and in preventing it in dogs given a black tongueproducing diet. Street and Cowgill (1937) also confirmed
that nicotinic acid cured black tongue in dogs.
Sebrell et al. (1938) gave variable amounts of nicotinic acid by intramuscular injection semiweekly to dogs of 6 to 8 kg body weight fed a cornbased diet (modified
Goldberger diet). On a body weight basis, 340 µg nicotinic acid per kilogram per day prevented appearance of black tongue, while 126 µg per kilogram per day
produced incipient signs of the disease. Margolis et al. (1938), also using a modified Goldberger diet, reported that black tongue induced in adult dogs was cured by a
daily dose of 500 µg or greater of nicotinic acid per kilogram of body weight. When doses were reduced to 200 µg per kilogram of body weight daily the response
was delayed, and 100 µg per kilogram of body weight was ineffective. Birch (1939) also used a cornbased diet and found that 130 µg nicotinic acid per kilogram of
body weight gave protection against signs of black tongue and some increase in body weight of depleted adult dogs, whereas 250 µg per kilogram allowed for a rapid
weight gain. Both 84 and 27 µg per kilogram of body weight gave no protection.
Prior to the report of Schaefer et al. (1942), all attempts to define the nicotinic acid requirement of the dog had used a Goldbergertype diet, based largely on corn.
These authors were the first to use a semipurified diet, which in this study contained sucrose, 66 percent; acidwashed casein, 19 percent; cottonseed oil, 8 percent;
cod liver oil, 3 percent; and salt mixture, 4 percent. Consequently, this diet contained a lower content of niacin than diets based on natural food ingredients. The diet
was fortified with thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, and choline. The requirement of nicotinic acid (calculated from singledose feedings) for adult dogs
was 200 to 225 µg per kilogram of body weight per day and for growing dogs 250 to 365 µg per kilogram of body weight per day.
In most animals nicotinic acid is a minor end product
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of tryptophan degradation. Hence, dietary niacin requirements are dependent on the level of tryptophan in the diet. Singal et al. (1948) fed growing dogs a semipurified
niacindeficient diet based on sucrose, 66 percent, and casein, 19 percent. When they replaced 21 percent of the sucrose in the basal diet with an equal weight of
either zein or gelatin (proteins low in tryptophan) the time that elapsed before the dogs were depleted was not prolonged. In contrast, when 21 percent of the sucrose
was replaced by casein (i.e., 40 percent casein in the diet) about twice as much weight gain occurred before the dogs' weight plateaued. Also, the response to an
injection of 10 mg nicotinic acid per kilogram of body weight was greater for dogs fed the 40 percent casein diet than the basal diet alone or with 21 percent gelatin or
zein. While none of the above diets prevented eventual onset of clinical signs of nicotinic acid deficiency, complete protection was obtained by substituting 42 percent
of the sucrose with casein. Complete protection was also obtained by adding 0.5 percent Ltryptophan (calculated tryptophan in 42 percent casein) to the basal diet.
Further work suggested that the Disomer of tryptophan was poorly utilized by the dog for niacin synthesis, but increments of 0.3, 0.2, or 0.1 percent DLtryptophan
added to the basal diet gave protection. The efficiency of utilization of Dtryptophan for growth by the dog is about one third that of Ltryptophan (Czarnecki and
Baker, 1982). If one assumes comparable relative efficiencies between the isomers for niacin synthesis, then the lowest total dietary level of tryptophan giving complete
protection was equivalent to 0.37 percent of Lisomer. This conclusion is difficult to reconcile with the finding that a diet of 40 percent casein containing 0.48 percent L
tryptophan resulted in the disease.
From a bioassay procedure, these workers concluded that for the dog 132 mg Ltryptophan is equivalent to approximately 1 mg nicotinic acid. This ratio is
considerably wider than that proposed for the rat or human. Hankes et al. (1948) calculated that 33 to 40 mg tryptophan yield 1 mg niacin for the rat, and Horwitt et
al. (1956) proposed that 60 mg tryptophan are equivalent to 1 mg nicotinic acid for humans. However, this ratio is probably not constant but varies with the
tryptophan and niacin concentration of the diet (Anonymous, 1974).
In naturally occurring foods, particularly cereal grains, a considerable proportion of the niacin may be in the bound form, which is unavailable or only partly available
unless hydrolyzed. Ghosh et al. (1963), using a microbiological assay, reported that 85 to 90 percent of the total nicotinic acid in cereals was in a bound form. Mason
et al. (1973) showed that extraction of wheat bran under neutral conditions yielded 62 percent of the bound niacin in solution; of this, 90 percent was nondiffusible.
Bound nicotinic acid was found to be linked to macromolecules of which 60 percent were polysaccharides and 40 percent peptides or glycopeptides. Oil seeds
contain about 40 percent of their total niacin in bound form, while only a small proportion of the niacin in pulses, yeast, crustacea, fish, animal tissue, or milk is bound.
By use of a rat assay procedure, Carter and Carpenter (1982) showed that for eight samples of mature cooked cereals (corn, wheat, rice, and milo), only about 35
percent of the total niacin was available. In the calculation of the niacin content of formulated diets, probably all niacin from cereal grain sources should be ignored or at
least given a value no greater than onethird of the total niacin.
The association of pellagra in humans and of black tongue in dogs with consumption of diets based on corn appears at least in part due to the combination of two
factors—the low availability of niacin in corn and the deficiency in tryptophan of the main protein in corn (zein). Researchers from India (Belavady and Gopalan, 1965,
1966; Belavady et al., 1967; Gopalan et al., 1969) have suggested that high levels of leucine in jowar (Sorghum vulgare) may induce black tongue in dogs and
pellagra in humans. However, researchers from other laboratories (Truswell et al., 1963; Nakagawa and Sasaki, 1977; Manson and Carpenter, 1978) have been
unable to reproduce the reported induction of niacin deficiency by high levels of dietary leucine. Whether the condition existing in India associated with consumption of
jowar involves a concurrent pyridoxine deficiency or feedback control of tryptophan pyrrolase activity as suggested by Hankes et al. (1971) has not been resolved.
There are a number of reports in the literature (e.g., Handler, 1943; Krehl et al., 1945) to suggest that niacin requirements of dogs fed cornbased diets may be higher
than those given purified diets.
For usual diets with minimal quantities of tryptophan, the daily requirement of the adult dog will be met by 225 µg niacin per kilogram of body weight and for the
growing dog by 450 µg per kilogram of body weight. These amounts will be supplied by diets containing 3 mg of niacin equivalents per 1,000 kcal ME. No
experimental data are available to give a requirement for niacin during pregnancy and lactation. However, for humans the rate of conversion of tryptophan to niacin
appears to be enhanced in pregnancy due to higher levels of circulating estrogen (Rose and Braidman, 1971; Horwitt et al., 1975).
Battistacci et al. (1979) have shown that urinary excretion of metabolites of the tryptophanniacin pathway are markedly increased in dogs following surgery.
Anesthesia alone had no significant effect on metabolite
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levels. The response to surgery is probably mediated by elevated corticosteroid levels and induction of tryptophan pyrrolase activity.
Signs Of Deficiency
Niacindeficient dogs exhibit anorexia; loss in weight; erythema; severe inflammation and ulceration of the oral and pharyngeal mucosa; profuse salivation with ropy,
bloodstained saliva drooling from the mouth; and foul breath. There is bloody diarrhea, inflammation and hemorrhagic necrosis of duodenum and jejunum with
shortening and clubbing of villi, and inflammation and degeneration of the mucosa of the large intestine. Intestinal absorption of water, glucose, sodium, and potassium
is reduced. Hepatic periportal fatty metamorphosis, neuronal degeneration of the spinal cord, and distortion of conditioned reflexes are evident. Urinary excretion of
Nmethylnicotinamide is decreased, and there are decreased liver and skeletal muscle concentrations of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide phosphate. Uncorrected deficiencies lead to dehydration, emaciation, and death (Dann and Handler, 1941; Sarett, 1942; Schaefer et al., 1942; Handler,
1943; Smith et al., 1943; Layne and Carey, 1944; Efremov et al., 1954; Nelson et al., 1962; Belavady and Gopalan, 1965; Greengard et al., 1966; Madhavan et al.,
1968; Manson and Carpenter, 1978).
Hypervitaminosis Niacin
High doses of nicotinic acid (but not nicotinamide) have been shown to cause vasodilatation and increased intracranial blood flow in humans. A cutaneous flush in dogs
appeared within 10 minutes of intravenous injection of 1 to 100 mg nicotinic acid per kilogram of body weight (Pereira, 1967). Intravenous nicotinic acid also
increases the flow of gastric secretions in dogs (Bailey et al., 1972). In rats, neutralized nicotinic acid injections produced a transient decline in plasmafree fatty acid
concentrations possibly due to an inhibitory effect on norepinephrineinduced lipolysis (Pereira and Mears, 1971). Intravenous nicotinic acid administered to dogs prior
to thermal trauma reduces plasma volume loss (Hilton and Wells, 1976). Although there are variable reports on the effect of nicotinic acid upon hypercholesterolemia
in the dog (Grande and Amatuzio, 1960; Zanetti and Tennent, 1963), Grande (1966) established that nicotinic acid has a plasma cholesteroldepressing effect in
normal dogs that depends upon the dose used and the initial cholesterol level.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6, usually in the form of pyridoxal phosphate and occasionally as the amine, acts as a cofactor for a large number of enzymes involved in various aspects of
amino acid metabolism including aminotransferases (transaminases), decarboxylases, racemases, dehydratases, synthetases, and hydroxylases. Pyridoxal phosphate is
required for the synthesis of aminolevulinic acid, a precursor of heme. Hematological parameters have been the main criteria used to determine the requirement of the
dog for vitamin B6 rather than the more recent and sensitive indices of adequate status, based on analysis of plasma pyridoxal 5'phosphate, urinary 4pyridoxic acid,
and urinary tryptophan metabolite excretion following a tryptophan load (Leklem and Reynolds, 1980).
Requirements
Fouts et al. (1938) showed that weaned puppies given a semipurified diet lacking vitamin B6 developed a severe microcytic hypochromic anemia. This anemia could be
overcome in adult dogs by oral administration of 60 µg per kilogram of body weight of crystalline pyridoxine isolated from natural sources (Fouts et al., 1939); or in
puppies (McKibben et al., 1939–1940) and in adults (Borson and Mettier, 1940) by administration of the synthetic vitamin.
Michaud and Elvehjem (1944) quoted unpublished experiments in which growing dogs given 5 µg pyridoxine per kilogram of body weight died before evidence of
anemia appeared, whereas 10 µg per kilogram gave fairly good growth, but not equal to that with 60 µg per kilogram. They suggested that the level of 10 µg per
kilogram of body weight per day may be sufficient for maintenance.
Vitamin B6 deficiency was induced in adult dogs given a semipurified diet by Street et al. (1941). Control dogs pairfed to those given the deficient diet and
supplemented with a pyridoxine concentrate lost less body weight and had normal hematology. The potency of the pyridoxine concentrate given was not determined,
but a similarly prepared concentrate to that used would have supplied the equivalent of 5 µg pyridoxine per kilogram per day. This intake of vitamin B6 was inadequate
for a single ad libitum control dog, which required 10 µg pyridoxine per kilogram of body weight per day.
Besides blood dyscrasia, anorexia, and body weight loss, Street et al. (1941) described a range of pathological changes including ataxia, cardiac dilatation and
hypertrophy, congestion of various tissues, and demyelination of peripheral nerves.
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Axelrod et al. (1945) showed that following a tryptophan load, young vitamin B6deficient dogs excreted xanthurenic acid and kynurenine in their urine. Dogs
supplemented with pyridoxine excreted kynurenine and kynurenic acid but no xanthurenic acid. They raised young dogs on vitamin B6deficient diets containing either
high or moderate levels of protein (casein). Dogs given the high level exhibited a greater decline in hemoglobin concentration and more rapid appearance of clinical
signs following tryptophan loading than dogs raised on moderate levels of protein.
The foregoing experimental data do not permit the derivation of a definitive requirement for either maintenance or growth of the dog. The requirement for maintenance
appears to be at least 10 µg per kilogram of body weight per day, and for growth, greater than 10 µg per kilogram of body weight per day but probably less than 60
µg per kilogram of body weight per day. Values of 60 µg per kilogram per day for the growing dog and 22 µg per kilogram of body weight per day for the adult are
suggested as the requirement. On a dietary basis these requirements are satisfied by 300 µg pyridoxine per 1,000 kcal ME. By comparison, recommended allowances
for growth of the rat are 6.0 mg per kilogram of diet (NRC, 1978) and the pig 1.5 mg per kilogram of diet (NRC, 1979).
Pyridoxal in serum from dogs appears to be more heatstable than in the serum from horse, rabbit, and man (Davis and Smith, 1975). A naturally occurring heatstable
vitamin B6 antagonist (linatine) has been isolated from flaxseed (Klosterman et al., 1967). The presence of B6 antagonists in ingredients used in dog foods does not
appear to have been examined.
Signs Of Deficiency
Acute deficiency of vitamin B6 in growing puppies may lead to sudden death without untoward clinical signs other than anorexia, slow growth, or body weight loss.
Vitamin B6 deficiency has been associated with microcytic hypochromic anemia, generalized convulsions, and elevated plasma iron concentration (Fouts et al., 1938,
1939; McKibbin et al., 1939–1940; Borson and Mettier, 1940; Street et al., 1941; McKibbin et al., 1942). Because of the involvement of pyridoxal phosphate in
amino acid metabolism, altered metabolites from tryptophan have been observed in urine (Axelrod et al., 1945). Dietary deficiencies of vitamin B6 or metabolic
deficiencies induced by deoxypyridoxine have been shown to result in prolonged tolerances of skin grafts and renal transplants (Humphries et al., 1961; Fisher et al.,
1963).
The toxicity of the tuberculostatic drug isoniazid to dogs has been alleviated by injections of pyridoxine (Chin et al., 1978).
Hypervitaminosis Vitamin B6
The vitamins B6 are not considered highly toxic and have been used in a relatively large dose (20 mg pyridoxine per kilogram of body weight intravenously) as an
antidote to a rodenticide "Castrix" (Ullrich, 1967), and to protect against the toxic pressor effects of strophanthin K (Eremeev, 1968).
Folacin
Although dogs have been extensively used as a model for humans in the study of absorption of folic acid from the gut (Baugh et al., 1971, 1975; Bernstein et al., 1972,
1975), critical studies from which a requirement for folic acid can be derived are not available. Most of the early experiments on folic acid supplementation were
undertaken before the isolation of vitamin B12 and before the interrelationships between folic acid and vitamin B12 were recognized. Krehl and Elvehjem (1945)
proposed that folic acid may be synthesized in significant amounts by the intestinal bacteria and may contribute to the dog's requirement. Krehl and Elvehjem (1945)
and Krehl et al. (1946) also demonstrated that dogs given niacindeficient diets showed an enhanced response to nicotinic acid when the diet contained folic acid.
Folic acid seemed to play a role in maintaining a more adequate blood picture.
While intestinal synthesis in dogs has been elegantly demonstrated by Bernstein et al. (1972, 1975), the extent to which it contributes to meeting body needs has not
been quantified. Furthermore, data from other species indicate the contribution is likely to be dependent on the type of diet (Teply et al., 1947; Miller and Luckey,
1963; Klipstein and Samloff, 1966).
The jejunum is the preferential site of folic acid absorption (Hepner et al., 1968; Bernstein et al., 1972). Naturally occurring dietary folates are mostly in the form of
polygultamates, which are not absorbed intact into the circulation. Cleavage of the polyglutamate side chain to monoglutamate or diglutamate seems to occur in the
interior of intestinal epithelial cells (Baugh et al., 1975). There is no evidence of significant intraluminal conjugase activity in mammals, nor is the enzyme found in
isolated brush border fractions (Hoffbrand and Peters, 1969 a, b; Halsted et al., 1975). Polyglutamates are readily absorbed by the intestinal mucosal cells and are
apparently cleaved by conjugases that occur in the lysosomal particles.
Afonsky (1954) reported weight loss and a progressive
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decline in hemoglobin concentration in a dog given a semipurified diet. Subcutaneous injections of 15 µg of folic acid per kilogram of body weight restored hemoglobin
concentration.
Sheffy (1964) depleted 4 to 5weekold Beagle puppies of folic acid by feeding a caseinbased diet containing sulfasuxidine and 0.11 mg vitamin B12 per kilogram of
diet. After 9 weeks of depletion, all dogs developed erratic appetites and weight gains decreased, but there were no changes in concentration of hemoglobin. All dogs
were inoculated with distemper and hepatitis antigens, and half the dogs were also given 27.5 µg folic acid per kilogram of body weight. Depleted dogs had delayed
antibody production responses against both distemper and infectious hepatitis antigens. Antibodies were detected in depleted dogs supplemented with folic acid 8 days
after challenge with antigen, whereas depleted dogs without folic acid did not show antibodies until 17 days after being challenged. Folic acid supplementation allowed
resumption of normal growth. Sheffy suggested a requirement for folic acid of less than 1.2 µg per kilogram of body weight.
The folic acid requirement of dogs fed an adequate diet of nonpurified ingredients that does not contain bacteriostatic agents is probably met by microbial synthesis in
the intestine. Diets inadequate in choline, methionine, and vitamin B12 may induce deficiencies because of their interaction with folic acid.
It is suggested that the requirement given by the National Research Council (1974) for dogs of 4 µg folic acid per kilogram of body weight for adults and 8 µg folic
acid per kilogram of body weight for growing dogs be maintained. On a dietary basis, these quantities are supplied in diets containing 54 µg folic acid per 1,000 kcal
ME.
Signs Of Deficiency
Folacin deficiency results in erratic appetite, decreased weight gain, watery exudate from the eyes, glossitis leukopenia, hypochromic anemia with a tendency to
microcytosis, and decreased antibody response to infectious canine hepatitis and canine distemper virus (Krehl and Elvehjem, 1945; Afonsky, 1954; Sheffy, 1964).
In the metabolism of histidine in the folatereplete animal, the formimino group from formiminoglutamate is transferred to tetrahydrofolate. When there is a metabolic
deficiency of folate the urinary excretion of formiminoglutamate is elevated. A clinical test for folate deficiency is the administration of a load of histidine and the
measurement of formiminoglutamate in urine (Tabor and Wyngarden, 1958).
Hypervitaminosis Folacin
Although oral toxicity of folacin has not been described in the dog, Vogel et al. (1964) demonstrated inhibition of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase in the dog by
intravenous administration of 80 mg folic acid per kilogram of body weight 4 hours after intravenous ethanol infusion.
Biotin
Requirements
Spontaneous biotin deficiency occurs rarely in animals because biotin is well distributed among foodstuffs, and a good part, if not all, of the requirement for the vitamin
is met by microbial synthesis in the gut (Murthy and Mistry, 1977). The deficiency can, however, be induced by the inclusion of unheated (raw) egg white in the diet.
Raw egg white contains the protein avidin, which forms a stable and biologically inactive complex with biotin. One molecule of avidin binds four molecules of biotin
(Green, 1963) so firmly that 15 min of steaming at 100°C released only 0 to 10 percent of the bound biotin (Wei and Wright, 1964). Steaming for 2 h at 100°C
released 55 to 65 percent of the biotin, while autoclaving for 15 min at 120°C produced complete dissociation. Uncombined avidin was found to be relatively heat
labile.
Shen et al. (1977) took 18dayold Beagle puppies and divided them into two groups. One group was forcefed raw egg white along with a basal diet without biotin.
The other group received an equal amount of heated egg white with the basal diet containing biotin. Within 10 days the group fed the raw egg white showed a
significant reduction in activities of pyruvate and propionyl CoA carboxylases in liver and kidney homogenates. However, activities of these enzymes in heart and brain
were less affected, which is consistent with data from rats and chicks.
Intestinally active antibiotics or sulfa drugs that inhibit microbial synthesis of biotin may also be expected to increase the need for biotin in the diet. Greve (1963) fed
diets containing spraydried egg white and sulfaguanidine to dogs and produced evidence of biotin deficiency. Assay of the urine of these dogs revealed less than 0.05
pg biotin per milliliter, as compared to "normal" dog urine that contained 7 to 13 pg biotin per milliliter. Unfortunately, the biotin concentration of the diet was not
reported.
Incomplete availability of biotin to chicks has been reported by Wagstaff et al. (1961) and Anderson and Warnicke (1970). There have been reports of apparent
Page 36
biotin deficiencies in poultry (Johnson, 1967; Marusick et al., 1970) and swine (Adams et al., 1967) fed practical diets. While a definitive requirement for biotin for the
dog cannot be stated, the inclusion in a diet of 30 µg biotin per 1,000 kcal ME may be prudent as a safeguard against a possible deficiency. This level is similar to that
suggested for the growing pig (National Research Council, 1979).
Signs Of Deficiency
No adequate descriptions of biotin deficiency in the dog are available. Greve (1963) reported scurfy skin (due to hyperkeratosis of the superficial and follicular
epithelia) and a marked decline in urinary biotin concentration. No alopecia or achromotrichia was noted.
Vitamin B12
Requirements
In mammals vitamin B12 is required as a factor for the transmethylation of 5methyl tetrahydrofolate to homocysteine and the formation of tetrahydrofolate and
methionine. Vitamin B12 also participates as a coenzyme for the conversion of methylmalonylCoA to succinylCoA (Weissbach and Taylor, 1970). It has been
hypothesized that a metabolic deficiency of vitamin B12 results in folic acid being "trapped" as methyl tetrahydrofolate and that it depletes 5 to 10methylene
tetrahydrofolate required for thymidylate synthesis and therefore DNA biosynthesis (Herbert and Zalusky, 1962; Mertz et al., 1968; Butterworth and Krumdieck,
1975). This hypothesis explains much, but not all, of the interaction of vitamin B12 in hematopoiesis (Chanarin et al., 1981).
The dog has been used intensively as a model in the study of the mechanism of vitamin B12 absorption (Reizenstein et al., 1960; Fleming et al., 1962; Hermann et al.,
1964; Bryant and Stafford, 1965; Gazet and McColl, 1967; Weisberg et al., 1968; Lavrova, 1969; Taylor et al., 1969; Yamaguchi et al., 1969a,b; Weisberg and
Rhodin, 1970), plasma transport of vitamin B12 (Markelova, 1960; Rappazzo and Hall, 1972; Sonneborn et al., 1972; Hall and Rappazzo, 1974), and tissue vitamin
B12 distribution (Cooperman et al., 1960; Woods et al., 1960; Skeggs et al., 1963; Rosenblum et al., 1963); however, no definitive data on dietary vitamin B12
requirements for the dog are available. Arnrich et al. (1952) fed a semipurified diet containing 20 percent vitaminfree casein without supplemental vitamin B12 to
weanling Cocker Spaniel puppies for 20 weeks. No anemia developed and gains were satisfactory, although a supplement of 50 µg vitamin B12 per kilogram of diet
appeared to increase gains (primarily fat). Likewise, urinary vitamin B12 excretion has been studied in the dog (Nelp et al., 1964; Coppi et al., 1970; and Silverman,
1979), but no data were presented that would provide a guide to vitamin B12 status in relation to vitamin B12 intake.
In rats the toxicity of methionine can be reduced by the inclusion of vitamin B12 in the diet at about 3 times the requirement (Areshkina et al., 1973). The requirement
for dietary vitamin B12 varies with the dietary content of choline, methionine, and folic acid.
In the absence of information on the requirement of dogs for vitamin B12, it is suggested that the recommended requirement for the baby pig (NRC, 1979) of 0.5 µg
vitamin B12 per kilogram of body weight be adopted for maintenance of the adult dog and twice this level (1.0 µg per kilogram of body weight) be used for growth of
puppies. These amounts would be supplied by 26 µg vitamin B12 per kilogram of dry diet containing 3.67 kcal ME per gram, or 7 µg per 1,000 kcal dietary ME. No
data are available to make a recommendation of the requirement during pregnancy and lactation. The requirement for bitches fed diets based on soy protein may be
greater during pregnancy than the above recommendation, as Woodward and Newberne (1966) reported hydrocephaly in rat pups from female rats fed a soybased
diet. This condition was prevented by supplementation of the diet by 50 µg per kilogram of vitamin B12 recommended by NRC (1978) for the rat.
Signs Of Deficiency
Uncomplicated vitamin B12 deficiency has not been described in the dog. Lavrova (1969) reported an anemia in dogs with an internal biliary fistula, which may have
been associated with a failure in vitamin B12 absorption. The anemia was generally macrocytic hypochromic, macrocytic normochromic, normocytic hypochromic, or
normocytic normochromic in type. The bone marrow erythropoietic centers appeared hypoplastic. Serum and liver vitamin B12 concentrations were decreased.
In vitamin B12 deficiency there is an enhanced urinary excretion of methylmalonic acid. Vitamin B12 is required as a coenzyme for the isomerization of methylmalonyl
coenzyme A to succinyl coenzyme A. A clinical test for vitamin B12 deficiency is to load the animal with a precursor of methylmalonic acid (e.g., valine) and measure
urinary excretion of methylmalonic acid (Williams et al., 1969; Chanarin et al., 1973).
Hypervitaminosis B12
Although frank vitamin B12 toxicity has not been described in the dog, Pshonik and Gribanov (1961) noted
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disturbances of reflex activity in the form of reduction in size of vascular conditioned reflexes, exaggeration of unconditioned reflexes, and intensification of successive
inhibition when vitamin B12 was injected subcutaneously in doses of 2 to 33 µg per kilogram of body weight.
Choline
Requirements
The importance of choline in the nutrition of the dog was suggested by its lipotrophic action on the liver of the depancreatized dog, according to Best et al. (1933). The
dietary requirement for choline is markedly affected by the concentration of other methyl donors in the diet, of which the most important is methionine. High levels of
methionine in the diet will obviate the need for dietary choline. Schaefer et al. (1941) pointed out that a number of workers have found that dietary casein
concentrations of 40 percent or more tend to obviate the need for dietary choline. In the studies of Schaefer et al. (1941) themselves, puppies receiving a 19 percent
casein diet became cholinedeficient. Controls receiving 50 mg choline per kilogram of body weight per day grew satisfactorily over the 37day experimental period.
On a 15 percent casein diet, Fouts (1943) found that 10 or 20 mg choline per kilogram of body weight would not prevent or cure the deficiency state in puppies, while
a 100mg level would. When 41 percent casein was provided, no choline deficiency nor any response to supplemental choline could be shown.
McKibbin et al. (1944) fed a diet containing natural proteins low in sulfur amino acids (10 percent protein from peanut flour plus 10 percent casein) to puppies and
concluded that choline requirements were probably not greater than 1,000 mg per kilogram of diet or 50 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
Complex interactions occur involving single carbon transfer by choline, methionine, folate, and vitamin B12. Choline requirements can only be determined when the diet
contains a minimal, but adequate level of methionine and adequate levels of folate and vitamin B12. When the previous experiments were undertaken the minimal
requirement of the dog for methionine was not known, and isolated sources of vitamin B12 and folic acid were not available. Furthermore, for rats the dietary
requirement of choline is influenced by the lipid content of the diet, the chain length and degree of saturation of the fatty acids, and the total caloric content of the diet
(Best et al., 1954; Salmon and Newberne, 1962; Zachi et al., 1965; Patek et al., 1966).
It is concluded that the choline requirements for adult maintenance may be met by 25 mg per kilogram of body weight per day and those for growth of puppies by 50
mg per kilogram of body weight per day. Diets containing 340 mg choline per 1,000 kcal ME will supply these quantities of choline when fed to adult or growing dogs.
Signs Of Deficiency
Dutra and McKibbin (1945) described the pathology of "uncomplicated" choline deficiency in young puppies. They reported fatty metamorphosis of the liver and
atrophic changes of the thymus. The morphologic changes in the liver, correlated with impairment in liver function as measured by delayed bromsulfalein elimination,
were reported by McKibbin et al. (1944, 1945) and Anonymous (1945a,b). Plasma phosphatase activity and blood prothrombin times were also elevated in the
cholinedeficient puppies.
Cholinedeficient dogs with fatty livers show an increased rate of hepatic phospholipid synthesis following choline supplementation (Di Luzio and Zilversmit, 1959).
Excess Dietary Choline
Acara and Rennick (1973) reported renal clearance studies on dogs that indicated that only onethirtieth of the choline filtered at the glomerulus was excreted in the
urine, suggesting active tubular reabsorption. When exogenous choline was infused intravenously, choline renal clearance exceeded glomerular filtration rate, indicating
active tubular excretion. Solomon (1966) has reported that infusion of choline results in urinary alkalinization, primarily from an increased urinary bicarbonate output.
At the same time, there is a decrease in ammonia output.
Vitamin C
Innes (1931) demonstrated that the dog, unlike the guinea pig, was independent of an exogenous supply of vitamin C. Puppies fed a diet devoid of vitamin C for 147
to 154 days showed neither growth impairment nor lesions of bones or teeth, although the same diet killed guinea pigs within 25 days with severe signs of scurvy.
Furthermore, the livers of dogs on the deficient diet contained the vitamin in sufficient amounts to prevent the onset of scurvy in guinea pigs, indicating that the dog can
synthesize its own vitamin C. Naismith (1958) showed that this synthetic ability is present in puppies during the first weeks of postnatal life. Litters were divided: some
puppies were left with the bitch; others were fed a synthetic diet minus vitamin C, or plus vitamin C. No significant differences in blood ascorbic acid concentration
were evident, regardless of treatment. Naismith and Pellet (1960) reported that the concentration
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of ascorbic acid in the milk from bitches is approximately 4 times that of the blood. The comparative rates of hepatic synthesis of ascorbic acids in dogs and cats
appear to be lower than that in ruminants, rodents, and lagomorphs (Chatterjee et al., 1975).
Despite the above evidence, a number of clinical case history reports (Garlick, 1946; Meier et al., 1957; Ditchfield and Phillipson, 1960; Holmes, 1962; Hunt, 1962;
Sadek, 1962; Bendefy, 1965; Belfield, 1967, 1976; Vaananen and Wikman, 1979) have been published purporting to describe scurvy in the dog with or without
concomitant hip dysplasia or osteodystrophy. None of these reports included observations on control untreated animals. Also, the effect on the dog of pharmacological
doses of ascorbic acid (e.g., 3,000 mg intravenously per day) may be quite distinct from its nutritional contribution. Teare et al. (1980) reported that 600 mg of
ascorbic acid twice daily only aggravated the skeletal disease induced by overfeeding protein, energy, and calcium to Labrador Retriever puppies.
In addition, vitamin C has been proposed as a prophylactic agent against canine distemper (Belfield, 1967; Leveque, 1969), and some veterinary practitioners
apparently advocate vitamin C for the treatment of kennel cough. Sheffy (1972) conducted some carefully controlled studies concerned with these issues and
established that exogenous vitamin C was of no benefit in alleviating clinical signs of illness, mortality, or gross or microscopic pathology associated with experimentally
produced canine herpes virus infection, kennel cough, or infectious canine hepatitis. In addition, as determined by measuring blood ascorbic acid levels, the latter
disease did not affect vitamin C synthesis. Other data on blood and urine ascorbic acid values in the dog have been published by Majumdar et al. (1964), Kleit et al.
(1965), Crilly et al. (1976), and Robinson et al. (1979). Csaba and Toth (1966), in controlled studies, established that ascorbic acid given before antigen challenge in
dogs has no protective action against anaphylactic shock and does not influence histamine release. Weintraub and Griner (1974) found that high doses of ascorbic acid
had no effect on biological halflife or kinetics of Warfarininduced hypoprothrombinemia.
It is concluded that there is no adequate evidence to justify recommendation of routine vitamin C additions to the diet of the normal dog. However, dogs with hepatic
dysfunction may have lowered plasma concentrations of ascorbic acid (Strombeck et al., 1983). Whether lower plasma concentrations are of clinical significance
remains to be demonstrated.
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3
Water
Water is undoubtedly the most important nutrient; it is vital to the functioning of all living cells. The body of the adult dog contains about 60 percent water (Gaebler and
Choitz, 1964), and this proportion is even higher in the puppy. The body has a limited capacity to store water, and water deprivation causes death much more quickly
than does deprivation of food.
Dogs obtain water in liquid form, from food, and as a consequence of oxidation of hydrogen during metabolism, the latter known as metabolic water. Oxidation of 100
g protein yields about 40 g metabolic water; 100 g carbohydrate, about 55 g metabolic water; and 100 g fat, about 107 g metabolic water. In general, about 10 to 16
g metabolic water are produced for each 100 kcal of energy metabolized. Thus, a dog consuming 2,000 kcal ME per day may derive 200 to 320 g water from body
metabolism.
Water gain (whether from liquid water, food, or metabolic water) is balanced by water loss, principally through the urine, lungs, skin, and feces. In the lactating bitch, a
considerable amount of water is secreted in the milk.
Under normal conditions, the body water content is remarkably constant. Therefore, water intake plus metabolic water must balance water outgo. The dog can cope
with a large fluid intake by virtue of a readily adjustable urine volume, but the unsalvageable water losses of the body dictate the minimum intake. In the growing puppy
and the idle adult, voluntary water intake will usually range from 2 to 3 times the dry matter intake. During lactation, hot weather, or severe exertion, water intakes may
reach 4 or more times dry matter intake.
The individual dog's requirement for drinking water is selfregulated, depending on factors such as type of food, environmental temperature, amount of exercise,
physiological state, and temperament. The need can be met by permitting free access to water at all times or by offering water at least 3 times a day. A dog should not
be allowed large amounts of cold water immediately following violent exercise, because of the dangers of water intoxication. When the total ration consists of soft
moist foods, which contain an intermediate amount of water, or of drytype dog foods, water is a necessary adjunct to feeding.
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4
Composition of Ingredients of Dog Foods
Specific nutrient content of some feed ingredients commonly used in dog foods have been extracted from United StatesCanadian Tables of Feed Composition
(NRC, 1982) and compiled by the International Feedstuffs Institute, Logan, Utah, as presented in Tables 6, 7, and 8. These may be used as an aid in compounding
practical foods for dogs.
Alternately, for preparation of ''home cooked" formulas or for formulation of therapeutic diets or supplements, the user is directed to food composition tables published
in the USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 456, Nutritive Value of American Foods (In Common Units), by Catherine F. Adams (USDA, 1975).
Nutrient concentrations are organized in Tables 6, 7, and 8 as follows: fat and fatty acid composition (Table 6), composition excluding amino acids (Table 7), and
amino acid composition (Table 8). All data are expressed on a 100 percent dry matter basis.
International Nomenclature
In Tables 6, 7, and 8 and in the United StatesCanadian Tables of Feed Composition, the Feed Name Descriptions are based on a scheme proposed by Harris et
al. (1980, 1981). The names are designed to give a qualitative description of each product, where such information is available and pertinent. A complete name
consists of as many as six facets, separated by commas and written in linear form. The facets are these:
Origin, consisting of scientific name (genus, species, variety); common name (generic name, breed or kind,
• strain or chemical formula)
• Part fed to animals as affected by process(es)
• Process(es) and treatment(s) to which the part has been subjected
• Stage of maturity or development
• Cutting (applicable to forages)
• Grade (official grades with guarantees)
International Feed Classes
Feeds are grouped into eight classes on the basis of their composition and their use in formulating diets. (The first digit of each hyphenated set of numbers in the
International Feed Number column of Tables 6, 7, and 8 is the feed class.) The numbers and the classes they designate are as follows:
Code
1. Dry forages and roughages
2. Pasture, range plants, and forages fed fresh
3. Silages
4.
Energy feeds
5. Protein supplements
6. Mineral supplements
7. Vitamin supplements
8. Additives
Feeds on a dry basis that contain more than 18 percent crude fiber or 35 percent cell wall are classified as forages or roughages; feeds that contain less than 20
percent protein and less than 18 percent crude fiber or less than 35 percent cell wall are classified as energy feeds; and those that contain 20 percent or more protein
are classified as protein supplements.
International Feed Number (IFN)
Each international feed name is assigned a fivedigit international feed number (IFN) for identification and
Page 41
computer manipulation. The IFN is particularly useful as a tag to recall nutrient data for calculating diets. As indicated above, the feed class number has been entered in
front of the international feed number (see Tables 6, 7, and 8).
The following table shows how three feeds are described:
Thus, the names of the three feeds are written as follows:
No. 1: Soybean, seeds, meal solvent extracted
No. 2: Alfalfa, meal dehydrated, 17% protein
No. 3: Wheat, soft white winter, grain
Carotene Conversion
International standards for vitamin A activity as related to vitamin A and carotene are as follows:
1 IU vitamin A = 1 USP unit
= vitamin A activity of 0.300 µg crystalline alltrans retinol (vitamin A alcohol), which corresponds to 0.344 µg alltrans retinyl acetate (vitamin A acetate) or 0.550
µg alltrans retinyl palmitate (vitamin A palmitate).
carotene is the standard for provitamin A.
1 IU vitamin A = 0.6 µg alltrans carotene.
1 mg carotene = 1,667 IU vitamin A.
International standards for vitamin A are based on the utilization of vitamin A and carotene by the rat. Since it is not well established that dogs convert carotene to
vitamin A in the same ratio as rats, it is suggested that consideration be given to reducing carotene conversion to vitamin A in Table 7 as follows:
1 mg provitamin A (carotene) = 833 IU vitamin A activity for the dog.
Data
The analytical data are expressed in the metric system and are shown on a dry basis. See Table 9 (p. 62) for weightunit conversion factors.
Analytical data may differ in the various NRC reports because the data are updated for each report. The feed names may also differ as feeds are more precisely
described or as official definitions change. However, if the feed is the same, the international feed number will remain the same.
Metabolizable Energy (ME)
Since ME content of food ingredients listed in Table 7 have not been determined by studies in dogs, no values were included; instead approximated values have to be
calculated. For this purpose, the Atwater factors of 494 for crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and nitrogenfree extract (NFE), respectively, commonly used,
are inappropriate. These were developed for and are more applicable to foods consumed by humans and not to combinations of ingredients used in dog foods. Their
use here would overestimate the ME values of dog foods, since their derivation was based on assumed digestibility coefficients of 91, 96, and 96 percent, respectively.
The studies of Kendall et al. (1982) strongly support this conclusion. Their study included data from 106 digestibility trials of commercial foods including 42 canned,
24 intermediate moisture, and 40 drytype dog foods. The overall mean apparent digestibility reported for CP, acid ether extract (AEE), and NFE was 81, 85, and 79
percent, respectively. Energy losses in urine were not measured, nor was there a separation of fiber from the NFE term. However, acid ether extraction was used,
assuring maximal measurement of fat content. The above were both positive and negative factors contributing to average coefficients suggested in the NRC (1974)
report for calculation of ME values for commercial dog foods and/or their individual constituents.
For this revision the Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition suggests average coefficients of 80, 90, and 85 percent, respectively, for CP, AEE, and NFE, and 0.0 for fiber.
Users are cautioned that these average values may result in underestimating ME content of lowfiber, lowconnectivetissuecontaining meat and animal byproduct
foods and in overestimating foods primarily from plant and cereal sources that contain elevated fiber contents.
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5
Formulated Diets for Dogs
Dogs require specific nutrients, not specific feedstuffs. This fact and the remarkable adaptability of the dog have led to the successful use of commercial diets that differ
widely in their ingredient composition. Commercial dog foods are of the three basic types, as described below, although foods with moisture levels ranging from 5 to
78 percent are common in the marketplace.
Dry Dog Foods
Low in moisture content (usually about 10 to 12 percent), dry dog foods commonly contain whole or dehulled cereal grains (e.g., corn, wheat, oats, barley), cereal by
products (e.g., wheat middlings, wheat germ meal, corn gluten meal), soybean products (e.g., soybean meal, soy grits), animal products (e.g., meat meal, meat and
bone meal, meat byproducts, poultry byproducts), milk products (e.g., dried skimmed milk, dried whey), fats and oils (e.g., animal fat), and mineral and vitamin
supplements. Crude fat content usually ranges from 5.0 to 12.5 percent on a dry basis. The higher fat levels (and improved palatability) may be achieved by spraying a
liquefied fat on the surface of pelleted or extruded products. Drytype foods may be marketed as meals, pellets, biscuits, kibbles (broken biscuits), or expanded
(extruded) products. Processing methods should include sufficient heat to partially dextrinize starch for improved digestibility.
Semimoist Dog Foods
Moderate in moisture content (usually 25 to 30 percent), semimoist dog foods are protected against spoilage without refrigeration by their content of sucrose,
propylene glycol, and sorbates. They also commonly contain animal products (e.g., meat, meat byproducts, meat digests), milk products (e.g., dried whey, cheese
rind), fats and oils (e.g., animal fat), soybean products (e.g., soybean meal, soy flour), carboxymethylcellulose, and mineral and vitamin supplements. They may be
shaped into "patties" of a size convenient for feeding or packaged as simulated meat chunks.
Most recently a modification of semimoist foods, namely, "softdry" foods, have been introduced to the market. These foods generally may contain lower proportions
of fresh meat and meat byproducts and depend for preservation on a low pH (4.2 ±) with the use of phosphoric acid or other acids, coupled with mold inhibitors.
Canned Dog Foods
High in moisture content (usually 74 to 78 percent), canned dog foods are commonly formulated to be nutritionally complete. The composition of these foods varies
from premium foods containing high proportions of meat and/or meat byproducts to formulations with low meat and meat byproduct content. The latter foods are
similar in composition to dry food to which water has been added prior to canning. A meatbased formulation may contain from 25 to 75 percent of meat and meat
byproducts. The latter products are usually designated as "dinners." Most such canned dinners also contain textured soy protein simulating the appearance of meat.
These products have almost totally replaced earlier fortified "allmeat" foods. Typically ''dinners" or "allmeat" foods on a dry matter basis are highnutrientdensity
foods. Higher energy density dictates higher concentration of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Although these foods are designed to be fed alone as complete
Page 43
and balanced diets, they are commonly used as supplements to improve acceptability of dry foods for feeding during more stressful situations. Although additions of
canned food, milk, meat, eggs, or broths invariably improve palatability of dry foods, the nutritional value of properly balanced dry foods may not always be enhanced.
Formulas for examples of products representing typical dry, semimoist, and canned foods are presented in Table 11 (see p. 62). These examples are intended only as
illustrations of formulations from commonly available feed sources.
Formulation for semipurified foods as commonly used in nutrition research may be found in any number of publications relating to vitamin and/or amino acid
requirements of dogs (see References). Such diets frequently contain crystalline amino acids, casein, or isolated soy protein as the sole protein source, depending upon
the nature of research being conducted.
Page 44
Tables
TABLE 1 Minimum Nutrient Requirements of Dogs for Growth and Maintenance
(amounts per kg of body weight per day)a
Adult
Nutrient Unit Growthb Maintenancec
Fat g 2.7 1.0
Linoleic acid mg 540 200
Proteind
Arginine mg 274 21
Histidine mg 98 22
Isoleucine mg 196 48
Leucine mg 318 84
Lysine mg 280 50
Methioninecystine mg 212 30
Phenylalaninetyrosine mg 390 86
Threonine mg 254 44
Tryptophan mg 82 13
Valine mg 210 60
Dispensable amino acids mg 3,414 1,266
Minerals
Calcium mg 320 119
Phosphorus mg 240 89
Potassium mg 240 89
Sodium mg 30 11
Chloride mg 46 17
Magnesium mg 22 8.2
Iron mg 1.74 0.65
Copper mg 0.16 0.06
Manganese mg 0.28 0.10
Zinc mg 1.94 0.72
Iodine mg 0.032 0.012
Selenium µg 6.0 2.2
Vitamins
A IU 202 75
D IU 22 8
E e IU 1.2 0.5
Kf
Thiamin µg 54 20
Riboflavin µg 100 50
Pantothenic acid µg 400 200
Niacin µg 450 225
Pyridoxine µg 60 22
Folic acid µg 8 4
Biotinf
B12 µg 1.0 0.5
Choline mg 50 25
a
Needs for other physiological states have not been determined.
b
Average 3kgBW growing Beagle puppy consuming 600 kcal ME/day.
c Average 10kgBW adult dog consuming 742 kcal ME/day.
d Quantity sufficient to supply minimum amounts of available indispensable and
dispensable amino acids specified below.
e Requirement depends on intake of PUFA and other antioxidants. A fivefold increase may
be required under conditions of high PUFA intake.
f
Dogs have a metabolic requirements, but a dietary requirement was not demonstrated
when natural ingredients were fed.
TABLE 2 Required Minimum Concentrations of Available Nutrients in Dog Food
Formulated for Growth
Dry Basis (3.67 kcal
Nutrient Per 1,000 kcal ME ME/g)
Proteina
Indispensable amino acids
Arginine 1.37 g 0.50%
Histidine 0.49 g 0.18%
Isoleucine 0.98 g 0.36%
Leucine 1.59 g 0.58%
Lysine 1.40 g 0.51%
Methioninecystine 1.06 g 0.39%
Phenylalaninetyrosine 1.95 g 0.72%
Threonine 1.27 g 0.47%
Tryptophan 0.41 g 0.15%
Valine 1.05 g 0.39%
Dispensable amino acids 17.07 g 6.26%
Fat 13.6 g 5.0%
Linoleic acid 2.7 g 1.0%
Minerals
Calcium 1.6 g 0.59%
Phosphorus 1.2 g 0.44%
Potassium 1.2 g 0.44%
Sodium 0.15 g 0.06%
Chloride 0.23 g 0.09%
Magnesium 0.11 g 0.04%
Iron 8.7 mg 31.9 mg/kg
Copper 0.8 mg 2.9 mg/kg
Manganese 1.4 mg 5.1 mg/kg
Zincb 9.7 mg 35.6 mg/kg
Kd – –
dispensable amino acids as specified below. Compounding practical foods from natural
ingredients (protein digestibility ± 70%) may require quantities representing an increase of
40% or greater than the sum of the amino acids listed below, depending upon ingredients
used and processing procedures.
b In commercial foods with natural ingredients resulting in elevated calcium and phytate
content, borderline deficiencies were reported from feeding foods with less than 90 mg
zinc per kg (Sanecki et al., 1982).
c A fivefold increase may be required for foods of high PUFA content.
d Dogs have a metabolic requirement, but a dietary requirement was not demonstrated
when foods from natural ingredients were fed.
e Overages must be considered to cover losses in processing and storage.
Page 45
TABLE 3 Factors for Consideration in Formulation of Dog Foods From Natural
Ingredientsa
Nutrient Factors for Consideration
Fat Degree of unsaturation, antioxidants, vitamin E
Carbohydrate Fiber, lactose, reducing sugars, processing, stage
oflife cycle
Protein Energy content, digestibility, amino acid balance,
processing, antinutrients, antitryptic factors
Amino acids Availability; heat treatment in presence of reducing
sugars reduces availability, especially of lysine;
requirement for individual amino acids increases
with increased dietary nitrogen.
Minerals Ratios, source, availability
Calcium Phytates, ligands, vitamin D
Phosphorus Phytates, calcium, plantanimal
Sodium, potassium, chloride High availability
Zinc Phytates, calcium, plantanimal, fiber
Copper Phytates, zinc
Iron Source, availability, plantanimal
Vitamins Processing, lipid content, source
A Oxidation, toxicity
D Toxicity, calcium level
E PUFA, selenium
B1 Losses in processing and storage, product pH,
storage time and temperature, thiaminases
B2 UV light
B6 (Pyridoxine) Protein level in diet
Niacin Tryptophan, low availability of plant sources
Folate Processing losses
B12 Plant versus animal proteins
Choline Methionine, folate, vitamin B12, availability, fat
a See text discussion for details relative to individual nutrients.
TABLE 4 Calculated Metabolizable Protein and Metabolizable Energy
Requirements of Dogs in Various Physiological Statesa
Metabolizable
Energy Requirement
Protein Requirement (g
metabolizable protein (kcal per Wkg0.67 per
W kg
Physiological State 0.67 per day) day)
Weaning
Start (3 weeks) 8.1 400
nitrogen minus fecal and urine N (retained N) × 6.25. Calculated metabolizable
energy estimates were based on 4 kcal/g of dietary carbohydrate and protein
and 9 kcal/g of dietary fat. These requirements are presumed to apply in a
thermoneutral environment at moderate levels of activity.
TABLE 5 Recommended Energy Needs of Adult Dogs at Maintenance (kcal
ME/day)a
Body Weight NRC (1974) (132 Thonney (1983) Thonney (1983) (144
(kg) W kg0.75) (100 Wkg0.88)b + 62.2 Wkg)b
Page 46
TABLE 6 Fat and Fatty Acid Composition of Feed Ingredients; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis (100% Dry Matter)
Interna
Entry tional Dry Ether Saturated Unsaturated Arachidonic
Num Feed Matter Extract Fata Fata Linoleic Acid
ber Feed Name Description Number (%) (%) (%) (%) Acid (%) (%)
ALFALFA Medicago sativa
01 meal dehydrated, 17% protein 100023 92.0 2.5 0.3 0.7 0.43 –
ANIMAL
tallow—see FATS AND
OILS
BARLEY Hordeum vulgare
03 grain 500549 89.0 2.1 0.6 1.4 0.27 –
COCONUT Cocos nucifera
oil—see FATS AND OILS
CORN, DENT YELLOW Zea mays
indentata
04 grain 402935 89.0 4.5 0.9 3.7 2.05 –
CRAB Callinectes sapidus
08 process residue, meal (crab 501663 92.0 1.9 0.5 1.3 0.35 –
meal)
FATS AND OILS
09 bran oil, rice 414504 100.0 100.0 18.5 81.1 36.50 –
FISH
19 solubles, condensed 501969 51.0 12.8 5.7 7.1 0.39 –
FISH, MENHADEN Brevoortia
tyrannus
20 meal mechanically extracted 502009 92.0 8.4 4.8 3.6 0.12 –
oil—see FATS AND OILS
FLAX, COMMON Linum
usitatissimum
21 meal solvent extracted (linseed 502048 91.0 1.9 0.4 1.5 0.41 –
meal)
oil (linseed oil)—see FATS
AND OILS
MEAT
22 meal rendered 500385 94.0 10.6 5.00 5.70 0.36 –
MILK Bos taurus
24 skimmed dehydrated (cattle) 501175 94.0 1.0 0.40 0.60 0.01 –
OATS Avena sativa
25 grain 403309 89.0 5.1 1.20 3.90 1.67 –
PEANUT Arachis hypogaea
26 kernels, meal mechanically 503649 92.0 7.3 1.70 5.50 1.36 –
extracted (peanut meal)
PECAN Caya illinoensis
oil—see FATS AND OILS
POULTRY
27 byproduct, meal rendered 503798 93.0 12.5 4.50 8.00 1.98 –
(viscera with feet with heads)
offal fat—see FATS AND
OILS
RICE Oryza sativa
bran oil—see FATS AND
OILS
SAFFLOWER Carthamus
tinctorius
oil—see FATS AND OILS
SKIM MILK—SEE MILK
SORGHUM Sorghum bicolor
28 grain 404383 90.0 3.2 0.70 2.50 1.20 –
Table continued on next page
Page 47
TABLE 6–Continued
multiplying percent ether extract by fraction that was saturated or unsaturated. Alfalfa ether extract was presumed to be 40
percent triglyceride equivalent, and the percentage of ether extract was multiplied by 0.04 and then by the fraction that was
saturated or unsaturated.
Page 48
TABLE 7 Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food, Excluding Amino Acids; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis
(100% Dry Matter)
Table continued on next page
Page 49
Table continued from previous page
Table continued on next page
Page 50
TABLE 7 Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food, Excluding Amino Acids; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis
(100% Dry Matter)–Continued
Table continued on next page
Page 51
Table continued from previous page
Page 52
TABLE 7 Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food, Excluding Amino Acids; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis
(100% Dry Matter)—Continued
Table continued on next page
Page 53
Table continued from previous page
Table continued on next page
Page 54
TABLE 7 Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food, Excluding Amino Acids; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis
(100% Dry Matter)—Continued
Table continued on next page
Page 55
Table continued from previous page
Table continued on next page
Page 56
TABLE 7 Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food, Excluding Amino Acids; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis (100% Dry Matter)—Continued
Table continued on next page
Page 57
Table continued from previous page
Page 58
TABLE 8 Amino Acid Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis
(100% Dry Matter)
Page 59
TABLE 8—Continued
Table continued on next page
Page 60
TABLE 8 Amino Acid Composition of Some Common Feed Ingredients of Dog Food; Data Expressed on a Dry Basis
(100% Dry Matter)—Continued
Page 61
TABLE 8—Continued
Page 62
TABLE 9 WeightUnit Conversion Factors
Units Units For Conversion
Given Wanted Multiply by
lb g 453.6
lb kg 0.4536
oz g 28.35
kg lb 2.2046
kg mg 1,000,000.
kg g 1,000.
g mg 1,000.
g µg 1,000,000.
mg µg 1,000.
mg/g mg/lb 453.6
mg/kg mg/lb 0.4536
µg/kg µg/lb 0.4536
Mcal kcal 1,000.
kcal/kg kcal/lb 0.4536
kcal/lb kcal/kg 2.2046
ppm µg/g 1.
ppm mg/kg 1.
ppm mg/lb 0.4536
mg/kg % 0.0001
ppm % 0.0001
mg/g % 0.1
g/kg % 0.1
TABLE 10 Weight Equivalents
1 lb = 453.6 g = 0.4536 kg = 16 oz
1 oz = 28.35 g
1 kg = 1,000 g = 2.2046 lb
1 g = 1,000 mg
1 mg = 1,000 µg = 0.001 g
1 µg = 0.001 mg = 0.000001 g
1 µg per g or 1 mg per kg is the same as ppm
TABLE 11 Examples of Three Types of Commercial Foods (percent)a
Antimycotic and emulsifier – 3.8 –
Propylene glycol – 3.0 –
Dried skimmed milk – 2.5 –
a
For examples of foods from semipurified and purified sources, refer to papers listed in References
under Protein and Amino Acids, and Vitamins.
b
Courtesy of M. C. Stillions, Agway, Inc.; Gaines Nutrition Center, Gaines Foods, Inc.; and C. A.
Banta, Alpo Petfoods, Inc.
c Quantities to meet NRC requirements with sufficient overages to compensate for lack of availability
and/or losses due to processing and storage.
Page 63
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Potassium
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Sodium And Chlorine
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Iron
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Linton, R. G. 1934. Canine nutrition. 12th Int. Vet. Congr. N.Y. 3:488.
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Copper
Frost, D. V., C. A. Elvehjem, and E. B. Hart. 1939. The role of iron, copper, and cobalt, in hemoglobin production in dogs on a milk diet. J. Biol. Chem. 128:xxxi.
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Zinc
Anderson, C., and K. D. Danylchuk. 1979. The effect of chronic excess zinc administration on Haversian Bone Remodelling System and its possible relationship to
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Romsos, D. R., P. S. Belo, M. P. Bennink, W. G. Bergen, and G. A. Leveille. 1976. Effects of dietary carbohydrate, fat and protein on growth, body composition
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Sanecki, R. K., J. E. Corbin, and R. M. Forbes. 1982. Tissue changes in dogs fed a zincdeficient ration. Am. J. Vet. Res. 43:1642.
Iodine
Belshaw, F. E., T. B. Cooper, and D. V. Becker. 1975. The iodine requirement and influence of iodine intake on iodine metabolism and thyroid function in the adult
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Selenium
Allaway, W. H. 1973. Selenium in the food chain. Cornell Vet. 63:151.
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Fluorine
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Vitamins
Vitamin A
Bradfield, D., and M. C. Smith. 1938. The ability of the dog to utilize vitamin A from plant and animal sources. Am. J. Physiol. 124:168.
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Stimson, A. M., and O. F. Hedley. 1933. Observations on vitamin A deficiency in dogs. U.S. Public Health Rep. 48:445.
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Wakerlin, G. E., W. G. Moss, and E. L. Smith. 1942. Treatment of experimental renal hypertension with vitamin A. Science 96:161.
Wiersig, D. O., and M. J. Swenson. 1967. Teratogenicity of vitamin A in the canine. Fed. Proc. 26:486.
Vitamin D
Arnold, A., and C. A. Elvehjem. 1939. Nutritional requirements of dogs. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 95:187.
Brickman, A. S., C. R. Reddy, J. W. Coburn, E. P. Passaro, J. Jowsey, and A. W. Norman. 1973. Biologic action of 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D3 in the rachitic dog.
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Campbell, J. R., and T. A. Douglas. 1965. The effect of low calcium intake and vitamin D supplements on bone structure in young growing dogs. Br. J. Nutr. 19:339.
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McCay, C. M. 1949. Nutrition of the Dog. Ithaca, N. Y.: Comstock.
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Vitamin E
Anderson, H. D., C. A. Elvehjem, and J. E. Gonce, Jr. 1939. Vitamin E deficiency in dogs. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 42:750.
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Elvehjem, C. A., J. E. Gonce, Jr., and G. W. Newell. 1944. The effect of vitamin E on reproduction in dogs on milk diets. J. Pediatr. 24:436.
Harris, P. L., and N. D. Embree. 1963. Quantitative consideration of the effect of polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the diet upon the requirements for vitamin E.
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Hayes, K. C., and J. E. Rousseau. 1970. Dialuric acid hemolysis as an index of plasma tocopherol concentrations in the dog. Lab. Anim. Care 20:48.
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Schwarz, K., and C. M. Foltz. 1957. Selenium as an integral part of factor3 against necrotic liver degeneration. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 79:3293.
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Vitamin K
Anderson, G. F., and M. I. Barnhart. 1964. Prothrombin synthesis in the dog. Am. J. Physiol. 206:929.
Barnhart, M. I., G. F. Anderson, and M. H. Bernstein. 1964. Liver ultrastructure after coumarin and vitamin K1. Fed. Proc. 23:520.
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Thiamin
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Brin, M., and W. A. Vincent. 1965. The diagnosis of thiamine adequacy in the dog by use of the erythrocyte enzyme, transketolase. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc.
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Cowgill, G. R. 1921. A contribution to the study of the relation between vitaminB and the nutrition of the dog. Am. J. Physiol. 57:420.
Cowgill, G. R. 1934. The Vitamin B Requirement of Man. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.
Davis, J. S., and J. C. Somogyi. 1969. Reaction mechanism of the inactivation of thiamine by 3,4dihydroxycinnamic acid. Int. J. Vitam. Res. 31:16.
Deady, J. E., B. Anderson, J. A. O'Donnell, J. G. Morris, and Q. R. Rogers. 1981. Effects of level of dietary glutamic acid and thiamin on food intake, plasma amino
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Drill, V. A., and C. B. Shaffer. 1942. Effect of vitamin B1 and yeast on calorie intake and weight balance of hyperthyroid dogs. Endocrinology 31:567.
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Evans, H. M., and S. Lepkovsky. 1929a. Sparing action of fat on the antineuritic vitamin. Science 68:298.
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Evans, H. M., and S. Lepkovsky. 1935. The sparing action of fat on vitamin B VIII on the loss of vitamin B from the rat's tissues. J. Biol. Chem. 108:439.
Haenel, H., H. Ruttloff, and H. Ackermann. 1959. Zur vitaminsparenden Wirking schewer resorbierbarer Kohlenhydrate (Biochemical action of difficulty resorbable
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Maass, A. R., L. Michaud, H. Spector, C. A. Elvehjem, and E. B. Hart. 1944. The relation of thiamine to blood regeneration. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 4:105.
Murdock, D. S., M. L. Donaldson, and C. J. Gubler. 1974. Studies on the mechanism of the "thiaminsparing" effect of ascorbic acid in rats. Am. J. Clin. Nutr.
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Riboflavin
Axelrod, A. E., M. A. Lipton, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1940. The production of uncomplicated riboflavin deficiency in the dog. Am. J. Physiol. 128:703.
Axelrod, A. E., M. A. Lipton, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1941. Riboflavin deficiency in the dog. Am. J. Physiol. 133:555.
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Fridericia, L. S., P. Freudenthal, S. Gudjonnsson, G. Johansen, and N. Schoubye. 1927. Refection, a transmissable change in intestinal contents, enabling rats to grow
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Haenel, H., H. Ruttloff, and H. Ackermann. 1959. Zur vitaminsparenden Wirkung schewer resorbierbarer Kohlenhydrate (Biochemical action of difficulty resorbable
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Heywood, R., and H. Partington. 1971. Ocular lesions induced by vitamin B2 deficiency. Vet. Rec. 88:251.
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Spector, H., A. R. Maass, L. Michaud, C. A. Elvehjem, and E. B. Hart. 1943. The role of riboflavin in blood regeneration. J. Biol. Chem. 150:75.
Street, H. R., and G. R. Cowgill. 1939. Acute riboflavin deficiency in the dog. Am. J. Physiol. 125:323.
Street, H. R., G. R. Cowgill, and H. M. Zimmerman. 1941. Further observations of riboflavin deficiency in the dog. J. Nutr. 22:7.
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Pantothenic Acid
Fouts, P. J., O. M. Helmer, and S. Lepkovsky. 1940. Factor II deficiency in dogs. J. Nutr. 19:393.
Gershberg, H., S. H. Rubin, and E. P. Ralli. 1949. Urinary pantothenate, blood glucose and inorganic serum phosphate in patients with metabolic disorders treated
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McKibbin, J. M., S. Black, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1940. The essential nature of pantothenic acid and another alkali labile factor in the nutrition of the dog. Am. J.
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Schaefer, A. E., J. M. McKibbin, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1942. Pantothenic acid deficiency studies in dogs. J. Biol. Chem. 143:321.
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Niacin (Nicotinic Acid, Nicotinamide)
Anonymous. 1974. Conversion of tryptophan to niacin in man. Nutr. Res. 32:76.
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Hilton, J. G., and C. H. Wells. 1976. Nicotinic acid reduction of plasma volume loss after thermal trauma. Science 191:861.
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Krehl, W. A., L. J. Teply, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1945. Effect of corn grits on nicotinic acid requirements of the dog. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 58:334.
Layne, J. A., and J. B. Carey. 1944. The effect of a blacktongueproducing diet upon the endoscopic appearance of the gastric mucosa in the dog. Gastroenterology
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Madhavan, T. V., B. Belavady, and C. Gopalan. 1968. Pathology of canine black tongue. J. Pathol. Bacteriol. 95:259.
Manson, J. A., and K. J. Carpenter. 1978. The effect of a high level of dietary leucine on the niacin status of dogs. J. Nutr. 108:1889.
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Pereira, J. N., and G. A. Mears. 1971. The biphasic effect of nicotinic acid on plasma FFA levels. Life Sci. 10(1):1.
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Sarett, H. P. 1942. Studies in nicotinic acid metabolism. II. The fate of nicotinic acid in normal and black tongue dogs. J. Nutr. 23:35.
Schaefer, A. E., J. M. McKibbin, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1942. Nicotinic acid deficiency studies in dogs. J. Biol. Chem. 144:679.
Sebrell, W. H., R. H. Onstott, H. F. Fraser, and F. S. Daft. 1938. Nicotinic acid in the prevention of blacktongue of dogs. J. Nutr. 16:355.
Singal, S. A., V. P. Sydenstricker, and J. M. Littlejohn. 1948. The role of tryptophan in the nutrition of dogs on nicotinic aciddeficient diets. J. Biol. Chem. 176:1051.
Smith, S. G., R. Curry, and H. Hawfield. 1943. Nicotinic acid storage in the dog at different dose levels of the vitamin. J. Nutr. 25:341.
Street, H. R., and G. R. Cowgill. 1937. The cure of canine blacktongue with nicotinic acid. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 37:547.
Truswell, A. S., G. A. Goldsmith, and W. N. Pearson. 1963. Leucine and pellagra. Lancet i:778.
Zanetti, M. E., and D. M. Tennent. 1963. Hormonal hypercholesterolemia in the dog: Influence of niacin, niacinamide, benzmalecene, and cholestyramine resin. Proc.
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Vitamin B6
Axelrod, H. E., A. F. Morgan, and S. Lepkovsky. 1945. The fate of tryptophane in pyridoxinedeficient and normal dogs. J. Biol. Chem. 160:155.
Borson, H. J., and S. R. Mettier. 1940. Relief of hypochromic anemia in dogs with synthetic vitamin B6. Influence of "filtrate factor." Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.
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Chin, L., M. L. Sievers, H. E. Laird, R. N. Herrier, and A. L. Picchioni. 1978. Evaluation of Diazepam and pyridoxine as antidotes to isoniazid intoxication in rats and
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Davis, R. E., and B. K. Smith. 1975. The heat stability of synthetic and natural pyridoxal. Lab. Pract. 24:515.
Eremeev, V. S. 1968. Effect of vitamin B6 on the toxic effects of strophanthin. Farmakol. Toksikol. 31:88.
Fisher, B., S. H. Lee, and E. R. Fisher. 1963. Effect of pyridoxine deficiency on renal homotransplantation in puppies. Surgery 54:784.
Fouts, P. J., O. M. Helmer, S. Lepkovsky, and T. H. Jukes. 1938. Production of microcytic hypochromic anemia in puppies on synthetic diet deficient in rat anti
dermatitis factor (vitamin B6). J. Nutr. 16:197.
Fouts, P. J., O. M. Helmer, and S. Lepkovsky. 1939. Cure of microcytic hypochromic anemia in dogs with crystalline "factor 1." Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 40:4.
Humphries, Jr., A. L., W. S. Harms, and W. H. Moretz. 1961. Skin homografts in dogs deficient in pyridoxine. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 178:150.
Klosterman, H. J., G. L. Lamoureux, and J. L. Parsons. 1967. Isolation, characterization, and synthesis of linatine. A vitamin B6 antagonist from flaxseed (Linum
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McKibbin, J. M., R. J. Madden, S. Black, and C. A. Elvehjem. 19391940. The importance of vitamin B6 and factor W in the nutrition of dogs. Am. J. Physiol.
128:102.
McKibbin, J. M., A. E. Schaefer, D. V. Frost, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1942. Studies on anemia in dogs due to pyridoxine deficiency. J. Biol. Chem. 142:77.
Michaud, L., and C. A. Elvehjem. 1944. The nutritional requirements of the dog. North Am. Vet. 25:657.
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National Research Council. 1979. Nutrient Requirements of Swine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Street, H. R., G. R. Cowgill, and H. M. Zimmerman. 1941. Some observations of vitamin B6 deficiency in the dog. J. Nutr. 21:275.
Ullrich, W. 1967. "Castrix" poisoning in small animals. Wiener Tieraerztl. Monatsschr. 54:481.
Folacin
Afonsky, D. 1954. Folic acid deficiency in the dog. Science 120:803.
Baugh, C. M., C. L. Krumdieck, H. J. Baker, and C. E. Butterworth. 1971. Studies on the absorption and metabolism of folic acid. 1. Folate absorption in the dog
after exposure of isolated intestinal segments to synthetic pteroylpolyglutamates of various chain lengths. J. Clin. Invest. 50:2009.
Baugh, C. M., C. L. Krumdieck, H. J. Baker, and C. E. Butterworth. 1975. Absorption of folic acid polyglutamates in dogs. J. Nutr. 105:80.
Bernstein, L. H., S. Gutstein, G. Efron, and G. Wager. 1972. Experimental production of elevated serum folate in dogs with intestinal blind loops: Relationship of
serum levels to location of the blind loop. Gastroenterology 63:815.
Bernstein, L. H., S. Gutstein, G. Efron, and G. Wager. 1975. Experimental production of elevated serum folate in dogs with intestinal blind loops. II. Nature of
bacterially produced folate coenzymes in blind loop fluid. J. Clin. Nutr. 28:925.
Halsted, C. H., A. M. Reisenauer, and J. J. Corcino. 1975. Studies on human folate conjugase. Clin. Res. 23:250A.
Hepner, G. W., C. C. Booth, J. Cowan, A. V. Hoffbrand, and D. L. Mollin. 1968. Absorption of crystalline folic acid in man. Lancet 2:302.
Hoffbrand, A. V., and T. J. Peters. 1969a. Subcellular localization of folate conjugase in guineapig intestinal mucosa. J. Physiol. (London) 202:40 P.
Hoffbrand, A. V., and T. J. Peters. 1969b. The subcellular localization of pterolypolyglutamate hydrolyase and folate in guinea pig intestinal mucosa. Biochem.
Biophys. Acta 192:479.
Klipstein, F. A., and I. M. Samloff. 1966. Folate synthesis by intestinal bacteria. J. Clin. Nutr. 19:237.
Krehl, W. A. and C. A. Elvehjem. 1945. The importance of folic acid in rations low in nicotinic acid. J. Biol. Chem. 158:173.
Krehl, W. A., N. Torbet, J. de la Huerga, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1946. Relation of synthetic folic acid to niacin deficiency in dogs. Arch. Biochem. 11:363.
Miller, H. T., and T. D. Luckey. 1963. Intestinal synthesis of folic acid in monoflora chicks. J. Nutr. 80:236.
National Research Council. 1974. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Sheffy, B. E. 1964. Nutrient requirements of dogs. Pp. 159162. Cornell Nutr. Conf., Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Tabor, H., and L. Wyngarden. 1958. A method for the determination of formiminoglutamic acid in urine. J. Clin. Invest. 37:824.
Teply, L. F., W. A. Krehl, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1947. The intestinal synthesis of niacin and folic acid in the rat. J. Physiol. 148:91.
Vogel, W. H., R. Snyder, and M. P. Schulman. 1964. Inhibition of
Page 73
alcohol dehydrogenase by folic acid and several of its analogs. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 115:545.
Biotin
Adams, C. R., C. E. Richardson, and T. J. Cunha. 1967. Supplemental biotin and vitamin B6 for swine. J. Anim. Sci. 26:903, Abstract 83.
Anderson, J. O., and R. E. Warnicke. 1970. Studies on the need for supplemental biotin in chick rations. Poult. Sci. 49:569.
Green, N. M. 1963. Avidin. III. The nature of the biotinbinding site. Biochem. J. 89:599.
Greve, J. H. 1963. Effects of thyroid and biotin deficiencies on canine demodicosis. Diss. Abstr. 24:1757.
Johnson, C. W. 1967. Field evaluation of Dbiotin supplementation for biotin deficient turkey poults and older turkeys. Poult. Sci. 46:1276.
Marusick, W. L., E. Ogrinz, M. Brand, and M. Mitrovic. 1970. Induction, prevention and therapy of biotin deficiency in turkey poults on semipurified and
commercialtype rations. Poult. Sci. 49:412.
Murthy, P. N. A., and S. P. Mistry. 1977. Biotin. Prog. Food Nutr. Sci. 2:405.
National Research Council. 1979. Nutrient Requirements of Swine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Shen, C. S., L. Overfield, P. N. A. Murthy, J. E. Corbin, and S. P. Mistry. 1977. Effect of feeding raw eggwhite on pyruvate and propionyl Co A carboxylase
activities on tissues of the dog. Fed. Proc. 36:1169, Abstract 4750.
Wagstaff, R. K., D. C. Dobson, J. O. Anderson. 1961. Available biotin content of barley. Poult. Sci. 40:503.
Wei, R. D., and L. D. Wright. 1964. Heat stability of avidin and avidinbiotin complex and influence of ionic strength on affinity of avidin for biotin. Proc. Soc. Exp.
Biol. Med. 117:341.
Vitamin B12
Areshkina, L. Y., E. P. Skorobogatova, N. N. Erofeeva, E. G. Filipovich, and B. A. Annenkov. 1973. Role of vitamin B12 in methionine catabolism. Appl. Biochem.
Microbiol. 6:339.
Arnrich, L., E. M. Lewis, and A. F. Morgan. 1952. Growth of dogs on purified diet plus aureomycin and/or vit. B12. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 80:401.
Bryant, Jr., J. A., and E. S. Stafford. 1965. Vitamin B12 absorption in dogs as measured by the isolated intestinal loop technique. Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. 116:341.
Butterworth, C. E., and C. L. Krumdieck. 1975. Intestinal absorption of folic acid monoglutamates and polyglutamates: A brief review of some recent developments.
J. Haematol. 31 (Suppl.):111
Chanarin, I., J. M. England, C. Mollin, and J. Perry. 1973. Methylmalonic acid excretion studies. Br. J. Haematol. 25:45.
Chanarin, I., R. Deacon, J. Perry, and M. Lumb. 1981. How vitamin B12 acts. Br. J. Haematol. 47:487.
Cooperman, J. M., A. L. Luhby, D. N. Tellar, and J. F. Marley. 1960. Distribution of radioactive and nonradioactive vitamin B12 in the dog. J. Biol. Chem. 235:191.
Coppi, G., L. Monti, and R. Genova. 1970. Blood levels and urinary excretion of three vitamins B12 in rat, rabbit and dog. Soc. Ital. Biol. Sper. 46:312.
Fleming, W. H., E. R. King, R. A. Galloway, and J. J. Roche. 1962. The site of absorption of orally administered Co60labeled vitamin B12 in dogs: The effect of dose.
Gastroenterology 42:164.
Gazet, J.C., and I. McColl. 1967. Absorption of vitamin B12 from the small intestine. Study in man, monkey, cat, and dog. Br. J. Surg. 54:128.
Hall, C. A., and M. E. Rappazzo. 1974. Uptake of protein bound vitamin B12 by canine organs. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 146:898.
Herbert, V., and R. Zalusky. 1962. Interrelations of vitamin B12 and folic acid metabolism: folic acid clearance studies. J. Clin. Invest. 41:1263.
Hermann, G., H. K. Axtell, and T. E. Starzl. 1964. Bacterial contamination of the jejunum and vitamin B12 absorption. Gastroenterology 47:61.
Lavrova, B. S. 1969. Effect of prolonged absence of bile from the intestine on vitamin B12 metabolism and the state of the blood system. Byull. Eksper. Biol. Medit.
67:29.
Markelova, V. F. 1960. The effect of denervation of the spleen on the serum vitamin B12 level in dogs. Bull. Exp. Biol. Med. 49:137.
Mertz, J., A. Kelly, V. C. Swett, S. Waxman, and V. Herbert. 1968. Deranged DNA synthesis by bone marrow from vitamin B12deficient humans. Br. J. Haematol.
14:575.
National Research Council. 1978. Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
National Research Council. 1979. Nutrient Requirements of Swine. Washington, D.C: National Academy of Sciences.
Nelp, W. B., H. N. Wagner, Jr., R. C. Reba, P. G. Dennis, and R. E. Bower. 1964. Renal excretion of vitamin B12 and its use in measurement of glomerular filtration
rate in man. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 63:480.
Pshonik, A. T., and A. A. Gribanov. 1961. The effect of vitamin B12 on the conditioned reflex activity of dogs. Zh. Vyssh. Nervn. Deyat. 11:1026.
Rappazzo, M. E., and C. A. Hall. 1972. Cyanocobalamin transport proteins in canine plasma. Am. J. Physiol. 222:202.
Reizenstein, P. G., E. P. Cronkite, L. M. Meyer, E. A. Usenik, and D. Driscoll. 1960. Lymphatics in intestinal absorption of vitamin B12 and iron. Proc. Soc. Exp.
Biol. Med. 105:233.
Rosenblum, C., P. G. Reizenstein, E. P. Cronkite, and H. T. Meriwether. 1963. Tissue distribution and storage forms of vitamin B12 injected and orally administered to
the dog. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 112:262.
Silverman, M. 1979. Vitamin B12 uptake in dog kidney: Its use as an extracellular reference marker. Am. J. Physiol. 6:F25.
Skeggs, H. R., R. E. Zwickey, J. L. Stanley, G. C. Shurr, and A. Phelps. 1963. Vitamin B12 and folic acid. Fed. Proc. 22:203.
Sonneborn, D. W., G. Abouna, and G. MendezPicon. 1972. Synthesis of transcobalamin II in totally hepatectomized dogs. Biochem. Biophys. Acta 273:283.
Taylor, R. M., J. A. Hildes, and J. F. Lind. 1969. Vitamin B12 absorption in dogs with chronic isolated intestinal loops. Can. J. Physiol. Pharm. 47:497.
Weisberg, H., and J. Rhodin. 1970. Relation of calcium to mucosal structure and vitamin B12 absorption in the canine intestine. Am. J. Pathol. 61:141.
Weisberg, H., J. Rhodin, and G. B. Jerzy Glass. 1968. Intestinal vitamin B12 absorption in the dog. III. Demonstration of the intracellular pathway of absorption by
light and electron microscope autoradiography. Lab. Invest. 19:516.
Weissbach, H., and R. T. Taylor. 1970. Role of vitamin B12 and folic acid in methionine synthesis. Vitam. Horm. 28:415.
Williams, D. L., G. H. Spray, G. E. Newman, and J. R. P. O'Brien. 1969. Dietary depletion of vitamin B12 and the excretion of methylmalonic acid in the rat. Br. J.
Nutr. 23:343.
Woods, W. D., W. B. Hawkins, and G. H. Whipple. 1960. Vitamin B12 Co60 readily passes the placenta into fetal organs and nursing provides B12 from mother to
pup. J. Exp. Med. 112:431.
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Woodward, J. C., and P. M. Newberne. 1966. Relation of vitamin B12 and 1carbon metabolism to hydrocephalus in rats. J. Nutr. 88:375.
Yamaguchi, N., H. Weisberg, and G. B. Jerzy Glass. 1969a. Intestinal vitamin B12 absorption in dog. I. Evidence against an intrinsic factor mechanism for vitamin B12
absorption. Gastroenterology 56:914.
Yamaguchi, N., H. Weisberg, and G. B. Jerzy Glass. 1969b. Intestinal vitamin B12 absorption in the dog. II. Characterization of vitamin B12 binders in dog
gastrointestinal mucosae and secretions. Gastroenterology 56:925.
Choline
Acara, M., and B. Rennick. 1973. Regulation of plasma choline by the renal tubule: Bidirectional transport of choline. Am. J. Physiol. 225:1123.
Anonymous. 1945a. Choline deficiency studies in dogs. Nutr. Rev. 3:124.
Anonymous. 1945b. Liver function and experimental choline deficiency in dogs. Nutr. Rev. 3:261.
Best, C. H., G. C. Ferguson, and J. M. Hershey. 1933. Choline and liver fat in diabetic dogs. J. Physiol. 79:94.
Best, C. H., C. C. Lucas, and J. H. Redout. 1954. The lipotrophic factors. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 57:66.
Di Luzio, N. R., and D. B. Zilversmit. 1959. Effect of single and chronic choline supplementation on phospholipid metabolism of the dog. Am. J. Physiol. 196:887.
Dutra, F. R. and J. M. McKibbin. 1945. The pathology of experimental choline deficiency in dogs. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 30:301.
Fouts, P. J. 1943. Vitamin B complex studies in dogs: Production of cirrhosis of liver. J. Nutr. 25:217.
McKibbin, J. M., S. Thayer, and F. J. Stare. 1944. Choline deficiency studies in dogs. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 29:1109.
McKibbin, J. M., R. M. Ferry, Jr., S. Thayer, E. G. Patterson, and F. J. Stare. 1945. Further studies on choline deficiency in dogs. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 30:422.
Patek, A. J., R. F. Kendall, N. M. de Fritsch, and R. L. Hirsch. 1966. Cirrhosisenhancing effect of corn oil. Arch. Pathol. 82:596.
Salmon, W. D., and P. M. Newberne. 1962. Cardiovascular disease in choline deficient rats. Arch. Pathol. 70:190.
Schaefer, A. E., J. M. McKibbin, and C. A. Elvehjem. 1941. Importance of choline in synthetic rations for dogs. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 47:365.
Solomon, S. 1966. Urinary alkalinization induced by choline. Arch. Int. Physiol. 74:73.
Zachi, F. G., F. W. Hoffbauer, and F. Grande. 1965. Fatty cirrhosis in the rat. Arch. Pathol. 80:323.
Vitamin C
Belfield, W. O. 1967. Vitamin C in treatment of canine and feline distemper complex. Vet. Med. Small Anim. Clin. 62:345.
Belfield, W. O. 1976. Chronic subclinical scurvy and canine hip dysplasia. Vet. Med. Small Anim. Clin. 71:1399.
Bendefy, A. A. 1965. Recovery from barbiturate anaesthesia in whippets. Vet. Rec. 77:121.
Chatterjee, I. B., A. K. Majumder, B. K. Nandi, and N. Subramanian. 1975. Synthesis and some major functions of vitamin C in animals. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
258:24.
Crilly, J. C., D. M. Pugh, and D. J. Cuffe. 1976. Plasma and buffy coat vitamin C concentrations in the dog. Folia Vet. Lat. 6:289.
Csaba, B., and S. Toth. 1966. The effect of ascorbic acid on anaphylactic shock in dogs. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 18:325.
Ditchfield, J., and M. H. Phillipson. 1960. Achlorhydria in dogs, with report of a case complicated by avitaminosis C. Can. Vet. J. 1:396.
Garlick, N. L. 1946. True scurvy in the dog. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 109:70.
Holmes, J. R. 1962. Suspected skeletal scurvy in the dog. Vet. Rec. 74:801.
Hunt, G. C. 1962. Suspected skeletal scurvy in the dog. Vet. Rec. 74:1190.
Innes, J. R. M. 1931. Vitamin C requirements of the dog. Attempts to produce experimental scurvy. 2nd Rep. Dir. Camb. Inst. Anim. Pathol., p. 143.
Kleit, S., D. Levin, T. Perenich, and R. Cade. 1965. Renal excretion of ascorbic acid by dogs. Am. J. Physiol. 209:195.
Leveque, J. I. 1969. Ascorbic acid treatment of the canine distemper complex. Vet. Med. Small Anim. Clin. 64:997.
Majumdar, M. K., C. Sinha, and S. Lahiri. 1964. Transport form of vitamin C in mammals. Indian J. Exp. Biol. 2:224.
Meier, H., S. T. Clark, G. B. Schnelle, and D. H. Will. 1957. Hypertrophic osteodystrophy associated with disturbance of vitamin C synthesis in dogs. J. Am. Vet.
Med. Assoc. 130:483.
Naismith, D. H. 1958. Ascorbicacid requirements of the dog. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 17:x1ii.
Naismith, D. J., and P. L. Pellett. 1960. The watersoluble vitamin content of blood serum and milk of the bitch. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 19:xi.
Robinson, J. A., B. A. Gurlick, R. E. Hodges, and B. W. Glad. 1979. Comparative studies of whole blood and plasma ascorbic acid levels in some species of
animals. Fed. Proc. 38:556, Abstr. 1733.
Sadek, S. E. 1962. Suspected skeletal scurvy in the dog. Vet. Rec. 74:905.
Sheffy, B. E. 1972. Nutrition and infection. Pp. 5561 in Canine Nutrition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. J. Nutr. 48:81.
Strombeck, D. R., D. Harrold, Q. R. Rogers, E. Wheeldon, J. Stern, and M. Schaeffer. 1983. Plasma amino acid, glucagon, and insulin concentrations in dogs with
nitrosamineinduced hepatic disease. Am. J. Vet. Res. 44:2028.
Teare, J. A., A. Hedhammar, and L. Krook. 1980. Influence of growth intensity on the skeletal development in dogs: Effect of ascorbic acid supplementation. In
Nutrition of the Dog and Cat, R. S. Anderson, ed. Proceedings of International Symposium on Nutrition of the Dog and Cat. 200Year Anniversary, Veterinary
School, Hanover. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Vaananen, M., and L. Wikman. 1979. Scurvy as a cause of osteodystrophy. J. Small Anim. Pract. 20:491.
Weintraub, M., and P. F. Griner. 1974. Warfarin and ascorbic acid: Lack of evidence of a drug interaction. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 28:53.
Water
Gaebler, O. H., and H. C. Choitz. 1964. Studies of body water and water turnover determined with deuterium oxide added to food. Clin. Chem. 10:13.
Composition Of Ingredients Of Dog Foods
Harris, L. E., H. Haendler, R. Riviere, and L. Rechaussat. 1980. International feed data bank system; an introduction into the system
Page 75
with instructions for describing feeds and recording data. International Network of Feed Information Centers. Publ. 2. Prepared on behalf of INFIC by the
International Feedstuffs Institute, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.
Harris, L. E., L. D. Kearl, and P. V. Fonnesbeck. 1981. Rationale for naming a feed. Utah Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 501.
Kendall, P. T., D. W. Holme, and P. M. Smith. 1982. Methods of prediction of the digestible energy content of dog foods from gross energy value, proximate
analysis and digestible nutrient content. J. Sci. Food Agric. 3:823.
National Research Council. 1982. United StatesCanadian Tables of Feed Composition. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1975. Nutritive Value of American Foods (In Common Units). Catherine F. Adams. USDA/ARS. Agriculture Handbook 456.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Page 77
Index
adult maintenance requirements
amino acids, 912
biotin, 36
calcium, 17
carbohydrates, 8
choline, 37
energy, 24, 5
fat, 6
folacin, 35
iron, 19
metabolizable protein table, 45
minimum nutrients table, 44
niacin, 31, 32
pantothenic acid, 30, 31
phosphorus, 17
protein, 1314
riboflavin, 29, 30
thiamin, 28
vitamin A, 22
vitamin B6, 33, 34
vitamin B12, 36
vitamin D, 24
vitamin E, 26
vitamin K, 26, 27
water, 39
adverse environmental conditions (see environmental influences)
amino acids
deficiency signs, 9, 10
dispensable, 1314
feed composition table, 5861
indispensable, 912
types needed, 9
apparent digestible energy (DE), 2
arachidonic acid, 6, 7
arginine, 9, 10
biotin, 3536
calcium, 1517, 18, 20, 24
canned dog foods, 4243
carbohydrates, 2, 79
carotene conversion, 41
chlorine, 17
choline, 37
cobalt, 21
commercial dog foods (see dog foods)
copper, 19
crude protein (CP), 41
cystine, 11
deficiency signs
amino acids, 9, 10
biotin, 36
calcium, 17
carbohydrates, 8
chloride, 17
choline, 37
energy, 5
folacin, 35
iodine, 21
iron, 19
magnesium, 18
niacin, 33
pantothenic acid, 31
potassium, 17
protein, 9
riboflavin, 30
selenium, 21
sodium, 17
thiamin, 2829
vitamin A, 2223
vitamin B6, 34
vitamin B12, 36
vitamin C, 38
vitamin D, 24
vitamin E, 26
vitamin K, 27
zinc, 20
dog foods
formula example table, 62
minimum nutrient requirements table, 44
modification factor table, 45
types of, 4243
(see also feed ingredients)
dry dog foods, 42, 43
energy
adult maintenance requirements, 24, 5
adult maintenance requirements table, 45
deficiency signs, 5
environmental factors and, 3, 5
growth requirements, 4, 5
measurement of, 2
reproduction and lactation requirements, 45
work performance and, 45
environmental influences
energy requirements and, 3, 5
water requirements and, 39
Page 78
essential fatty acids, 6, 7
ether extract (EE), 41
fat
deficiency signs, 7
description of, 5
energy values, 2, 5
essential fatty acids, 6, 7
feed composition table, 4647
recommendations for, 67
requirements, 56
fatty acids
feed composition table, 4647
requirements, 6
feed classes, 40
feed ingredients
amino acid composition table, 5861
composition excluding amino acids table, 4857
explanation of tables, 4041
fat and fatty acids composition table, 4647
weightunit conversion factor table, 62
feed name descriptions, 40
feed numbers, 4041
fiber, 89
fluorine, 21
folacin, 3435
glucose precursors, 7
gross energy (E), 2
growth requirements
amino acids, 1012
biotin, 3536
calcium, 16, 17
carbohydrates, 7, 8
choline, 37
copper, 19
dog food minimum nutrients table, 44
energy, 4, 5
fat, 57
fluorine, 21
folacin, 35
iodine, 21
iron, 19
magnesium, 18
minimum nutrients table, 44
niacin, 31, 32
pantothenic acid, 3031
phosphorus, 16, 17
potassium, 17
protein, 13
riboflavin, 2930
selenium, 21
thiamin, 27, 29
vitamin A, 22, 23
vitamin B6, 33, 34
vitamin B12, 36
vitamin C, 3738
vitamin D, 24, 25
vitamin E, 26
vitamin K, 26, 27
water, 39
zinc, 20
histidine, 10
hypervitaminosis
biotin, 3637
choline, 37
folacin, 35
niacin, 33
pantothenic acid, 31
riboflavin, 30
thiamin, 39
vitamin A, 23
vitamin B6, 34
vitamin B12, 3637
vitamin D, 25
vitamin E, 26
vitamin K, 27
international feed classes, 40
international feed numbers (IFN), 4041
international nomenclature, 40
iodine, 2021
iron, 1819
isoleucine, 1011
lactation (see reproduction and lactation requirements)
lactose, 8
leucine, 1011
linoleic acid, 6, 7
inolenate [C18:3 (n3)], 6
lysine, 11
magnesium, 1718
manganese, 20
metabolizable energy
adult maintenance requirements, 3
fat, 5, 6
measurement of, 2, 41
requirements table, 45
methionine, 1112
minerals
calcium, 1517, 18, 20, 24
copper, 19
fluorine, 21
iodine, 2021
iron, 1819
magnesium, 1718
manganese, 20
phosphorus, 1517, 18, 24
potassium, 17
requirement determination, 1415
selenium, 21
sodium, 17
trace elements, 2122
zinc, 20
minimum nutrient requirements table, 44
muscular effort (see work performance requirements)
niacin, 3133
nicotinamide, 31, 33
nicotinic acid, 3133
nitrogen balance, 914
nitrogenfree extract (NFE), 2, 41
nutrient requirements
modification factor table, 44
revision overview, 1
table of, 44
oleic acid [C18:1 (n9), 6
pantothenic acid, 3031
phenylalanine, 12
phosphorus, 1517, 18, 24
phytates, 15
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), 6, 25, 26
potassium, 17
pregnancy (see reproduction and lactation requirements)
protein
adult maintenance requirements, 1314
amino acid requirements, 914
deficiency signs, 9
description, 9
digestibility, 12
energy values, 2
growth requirements, 13
metabolizable, requirements table, 45
modification factors, 9
Page 79
reproduction and lactation requirements
carbohydrates, 78
energy, 45
fat, 56
niacin, 32
pantothenic acid, 31
potassium, 17
protein, 14
riboflavin, 30
thiamin, 28
vitamin A, 23
vitamin B12, 36
vitamin E, 26
water, 39
zinc, 20
riboflavin, 2930
saturated fatty acids, 6
selenium, 21
semimoist dog foods, 42
sodium, 17
starch, 8
sucrose, 8
sulfur amino acids, 1112
thiamin, 2729
threonine, 12
tocopherols, 2526
toxicity
copper, 19
iodine, 21
iron, 19
(see also hypervitaminosis)
trace elements, 2122
trans fatty acids, 6
tryptophan, 13, 3233
tyrosine, 12
valine, 1011
vitamins
A, 2223, 41
B6, 3334
B12, 21, 3637
biotin, 3536
C, 3738
choline, 37
D, 15, 2325
E, 21, 2526
folacin, 3435
K, 2627
niacin, 3133
pantothenic acid, 3031
requirement determination, 22
riboflavin, 2930
thiamin, 2729
water, 39
weight equivalents table, 62
weightunit conversion factor table, 62
work performance requirements
energy, 45
fat, 6
protein, 14
vitamins, 22
water, 39
zinc, 20
Page 81
Other Titles in the Series
Nutrient Requirements of Sheep, 5th Rev. Ed., 1975 0309022126
Nutrient Requirements of Rabbits, 2nd Rev. Ed., 1977
0309026075
Nutrient Requirements of Cats, Rev. Ed., 1978
0309027438
Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 4th Rev. Ed., 1978
0309027608
Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle, 5th Rev. Ed., 1978
0309027497
Nutrient Requirements of Nonhuman Primates, 1978
0309027861
Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals, 3rd Rev. Ed., 1978
0309027675
Nutrient Requirements of Swine, 8th Rev. Ed., 1979
0309028701
Nutrient Requirements of Goats, 1981
0309031850
Nutrient Requirements of Coldwater Fishes, 1981
0309031877
Nutrient Requirements of Mink and Foxes, Rev. Ed., 1982
030903325X
Nutrient Requirements of Warmwater Fishes and Shellfishes, Rev. Ed., 1983
0309034280
Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, 6th Rev. Ed., 1984
0309034477
Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 8th Rev. Ed., 1984
0309034868